Paint the Sky with Stars
by Yugure
Summary: This is the story of how pain and heartache can also begin the healing process. ZL with a little ZA thrown in. AU.
1. Prologue

**Title:** Paint the Sky with Stars  
**Author:** Yugure  
**Genre:** Romance  
**Bias:** Lina/Zel - Zel/Lina  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers. I don't own the rights to the album or song "Paint the Sky with Stars", which actually belongs to Enya.  
**Author's Notes:** I like to give Zelgadis black hair when he's a human (I saw some artwork someone did of him like that, and I quite liked it), so if I ever mention it, that's why. Lina is in her late teens and Zel is in his early twenties.

**Prologue**

With a toss of her head, Lina Inverse sent her poppy-red locks of hair bouncing over her shoulder. It looked like the kind of hair you see in shampoo commercials: glossy, luxuriant, and rich in color. In other words... beautiful. Of course, Lina never saw it that way. To her, it was always that mass of demon-curls from Hell, plaguing her with a bad hair decade. She was fairly contemptuous of her appearance, as though she were dead set on proving she was not worthy of her ruby eyes, crimson hair, and milky skin. Lina attributed everything to her mother and insisted she herself paled in comparison. While it was true Lina's mother was stunning, Lina never accepted her own beauty.

It was the casual toss of the crimson hair that caught Zelgadis Graywords' attention. Only once before had he seen such an intense color of hair, and the wrenching in his gut reminded him of the heartache he suffered from it. Zelgadis unconsciously raised his hand to caress the crimson locks when the woman underneath them stepped onto the bus. Zelgadis pulled his hand back and blushed, turning away to cover his embarrassment. How strange people must think he is, to reach out to a strange woman like that. _Shame on me,_ he thought. _She's been dead only a year and here you are, already chasing phantoms._ Zelgadis turned to watch the bus pull away from the curb. The young woman with the vivacious red hair was hidden from view. Sighing heavily, Zelgadis continued on his jog.

Fate can be a vindictive bitch. If life works like a finely tuned machine, fate is the wrench thrown into the gears. Total and complete system failure follows. Fate cannot be questioned; or rather, no living being would ever understand the answer. Fate works in mysterious ways. Even more mysteriously, phenomenally, fate can also be the remedy for catastrophe, misfortune, or broken hearts.

It is this last malady that fate works to amend. Why else would Lina be boarding a bus at that particular stop on that particular day? Why else would Zelgadis have chosen, at the last minute nonetheless, to alter his jogging route to swing him by the museum bus stop at that particular moment? The two people in question had suffered enough despair in their lives to jade them. Fate had already wreaked havoc on their lives, now it is time to repair the damage.


	2. Dance of the Cinnamon Apple Faerie

Chapter 1 – Dance of the "Cinnamon Apple" Faerie

"Ow! Damn prickers," Lina grumbled as she stomped her way through thorny bushes, swinging her portable and nearly indestructible CD player around like a battering ram. She was thankful for the heavy-duty boots protecting her feet, but unfortunately, since it was about mid-summer and the temperature was rising exponentially, her legs were bare and left to fend for themselves. Lina emerged from the foliage and stepped into the clearing.

She had found this space a year ago when a stray dog stole and ran away with her favorite hat. After much cursing and chasing, Lina had regained her possession and successfully terrified the mutt into a coma. They had ended up in this clearing. It was like a small piece of heaven on earth.

Emerald green grass tickled Lina's feet as she kicked off her boots, set down her boom box, and hopped around. Sunlight dappled the ground where it trickled through the leaves of the trees. In the center of the clearing, the sun shone down full force. Forget-me-nots and bluebells grew in lazy patterns across the ground, like misplaced toys in a child's room. Lina spun around in a circle with her arms out, laughing and enjoying the sun on her face.

She sighed and bent down to press the play button on her CD player. Soft strains of New Age music seeped from the speakers and saturated the air. The song nearly came alive. Lina stepped into the middle of the clearing, waited a few beats, and began dancing.

Like a faerie from the forest or an angel descended from heaven, Lina twirled and pivoted. Moving slowly with the grace of a princess, she closed her eyes and let the music move her.

***

Zelgadis wiped the sweat from his brow and continued jogging. The sun was murder today, and the only reason he forced himself to exercise was because it kept his mind occupied. The last thing he needed was another emotional breakdown.

On impulse Zelgadis took a right, swinging by the forest edge. The trees provided much needed shade. Deeper into the park, kids screamed and laughed as they ran around the playground. Weary mothers congregated on the benches, finding solace from others just like them. A little girl in a pink dress fell down and began bawling. Her mother scooped her up in her arms and whispered reassurances in the small child's ear. Even that caused a pang in Zelgadis's heart.

**She** had wanted children. For hours and hours she would plan out the baby rooms. She mostly wanted a girl, but even a boy would have brought such joy into her life. Zelgadis didn't really want any children, but deep down, he knew a part of him wanted to be a father. And then…

Zelgadis stopped in his tracks and bent over. _No, I will not think anymore. It hurts too much. I can't… I can't do this…_

Suddenly the sweet sound of music reached his ears. Zelgadis straightened up and looked into the forest. It was definitely coming from there. It was a beautiful song, something whimsical and instrumentally masterminded. He knew the song. It hurt him to remember it, but the notes came easily in his head. He could almost hum the rest of the song without the music. Drawn to it, Zelgadis stepped of the path and forged ahead into the forest.

As the music got louder and Zelgadis drew closer to its origin, he noticed movement. Not knowing what it was, Zelgadis pushed aside a few branches and saw… an angel. Or at least she looked like an angel, with the glorious red hair and pale porcelain skin. She **had** to be an angel because – Zelgadis felt his heart in his throat as he brushed past the foliage with a loud swishing sound – she looked exactly like –

"Eeep!" the girl squeaked as she stumbled to a halt and stared at Zelgadis with wide eyes. Her expression turned from confusion to suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"I… I followed the music," Zelgadis stammered. "It was-"

"It was none of your business, that's what it was! How dare you just barge in here as if you owned the place!" the girl ranted. She pointed a slender foot at the CD player and hit the off button. The music abruptly stopped and left the two of them in virtual silence. Only the faint swishing of the trees interrupted.

"Well, you don't own it, either," Zelgadis commented, feeling slightly annoyed at this girl's hostility.

"How do you know?!"  
"This is the city's land. It belongs to everybody."

"…. Well you still interrupted me. I think you owe me an apology." The girl put her hands on her hips and waited.

"What?! Why should I apologize to you? I didn't do anything wrong!" Zelgadis protested. The girl said nothing, only waited.

This definitely wasn't his angel.

***

Lina stared at the handsome man in front of her. Sure, she was irked that he interrupted her dancing, but it wasn't all that important. She could come here any time she wanted. It wasn't as though he interrupted a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

The man was entirely too handsome for his own good. Lina felt her anger slipping away like sand through fingers. With lustrous black hair tied back into a small ponytail and dark sapphire blue eyes glaring back at her, and the muscular build peeking out from beneath a loose white tank top, Lina felt her cheeks turn a dusty rose red. She was proud of herself for having that much control, when it really felt like her face should be the same color as her hair.

"Look, how about you join me for lunch, if you're really so upset about all this," he finally said. Lina's ears perked at the mention of food.

"How do I know you're not some sicko who'll take me into an alley and do bad things to me?" Lina demanded. It was futile, really. She already knew she was going to go. Her stomach had decided for her.

"I'm not that kind of guy!" the man exclaimed, his face turning red. Even that was cute, and Lina berated herself for thinking such thoughts.

"Well, you walk ahead of me, and I'll follow you, okay?"

"How do I know you won't pull a knife on me and stab me in the back?"

"… I wouldn't do that. Do I look like I could stab someone in the back?" Lina put on her cutest face and noticed the man turn a bit red again.

"Not really."

"Of course not. I only attack from the front."

"…."

"I'm kidding."

"Let's go." The man sighed, turned around, and began trekking back through the forest. Lina gave him brownie points for not turning back to check on her. She trailed along behind him.

***

Zelgadis wasn't exactly sure why he offered to have lunch with the redheaded wild child. She was beautiful, that was for sure. It could have been because she looked so much like… well, Zelgadis was pretty sure that wasn't it. This girl was much different. Her unique personality was invigorating, even though they had only just met. Zelgadis had simply opened his mouth to apologize when the words poured out by themselves. He decided not to question it. Maybe, just maybe, he was getting on with his life.


	3. Dance Dance Revelation

Chapter 2 – Dance Dance Revelation

With thinly veiled amusement and disgust, Zelgadis watched Lina inhale a plate of angel hair pasta. Her manners were less than magnificent, and as she chugged a glass sparkling water in record time, Zelgadis began to have second thoughts about offering lunch.

"So who are you, and what were you doing in my clearing?" Lina finally said, having the decency, Zelgadis noticed, to finish chewing her food first.

"It's not your clearing, and I was there because I recognized the music you were playing," Zelgadis replied. "It has… sentimental value for me."

"Uh-huh," Lina grunted. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "So you trekked through that damn briar patch wearing shorts and tennis shoes just so you could hear it better?"

"…. Basically, yes."

"You sure are a funny guy."

"Well explain to me why you were back there yourself, then. If you claim that clearing as your own, then you also had to trek through that, as you so nicely put it, damn briar patch." Zelgadis signaled the waitress over to fill their water glasses.

"So? Your point?"

"You don't make much sense, either. Any particular reason why you were there?"

"None of your business." Lina grabbed hold of the waitress's arm before she left and ordered another plate of pasta. "Why are we still talking about this?"

"I haven't the slightest," Zelgadis replied, coughing to cover the laughter that escaped his lips. He was fascinated, albeit also a little disgusted, by this girl, who very clearly wouldn't take any crap from anybody. Her attitude was so invigorating and demanding she could make the dead sit up and pay attention. She was also very different from… Zelgadis took a quick gulp of water to chase away the train of thought. "I don't even know your name."

"Lina Inverse. You?"

"Zelgadis Graywords."

"Nice to meet you." Lina smiled at the irony of the statement. It certainly hadn't started out that way. "And thanks for lunch. I was starving. I don't get a whole lot of food at home."

"You're very welcome. If you don't mind my asking…"

"My family is poor. Yeah, I still live with them. I don't have enough money to go away to school, and even if I did, I'd use it to help my mom. She got depressed when Dad left. I could care less. He used to beat Mom, so I was glad when he left. And then my imouto-chan died, from drug overdose. She was only 15, too. What a waste of life. Onee-chan is still alive, but I don't trust her one bit." A shadow crossed over Lina's face as though, at that moment, she relived a terrible memory. "So food is scarce around home."

Zelgadis stared at Lina as the waitress set another plate in front of her and she happily hacked away at it. Zelgadis felt somehow guilty. His father always told him he was too sympathetic. Zelgadis grew up in a wealthy home and always had everything his heart desired. Now, faced with this girl who obviously had a rough childhood, he wanted to do something for her. Zelgadis also knew she would never accept his help.

"Why are you so… happy, so carefree, if your life is like that? No offense, Lina, but it sounds like you've had a very brutal life, " he finally said, voicing his thoughts.

"None taken," Lina replied. "I'm moving on with my life. I can't dwell in the past all the time. Someday, I'll get out of that hellhole and have my own life. I have to work for it, and if I don't let go of the past, I'll never get there. I refuse to be all mopey and depressed about something I can't change. You know?" Lina continued to chatter on.

Zelgadis **did** know. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that letting go was the best possible action he could take. And still he clung to past, refusing to give up his hopes and dreams. Or maybe… maybe the truth was that the past clung to him… Either way, Zelgadis was tightly tied to his memories of a much happier time.

"So, you got any skeletons in your closet?" Lina's words cut through Zelgadis's reverie.

"No, none," he commented absently.

"Yeah right," Lina snorted. "Everybody has at least one. C'mon, what are you hiding?"

"We hardly know each other. I don't think this is an appropriate topic to be discussing."

"Okay, okay, whatever." Lina grinned. "I don't suppose you'll let me get a piece of chocolate cake…"

"Sure, go right ahead." Letting out a happy squeak, Lina called the waitress back over.

***

Lina watched Zelgadis over the rim of her water glass. He looked so blank, so unemotional, and yet Lina could see the unhappiness lurking in his eyes. Lina desperately wanted to know what was. She even opened her mouth to ask but closed it quickly when the unhappiness mutated into anger. Anger at her, or at his memories, she wasn't sure. _Better not ask_, she thought.

"I'm really sorry you… have to live like that," Zelgadis said, the anger dissipating. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at Lina.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault," Lina replied, digging her fork into the cake.

"Still, I feel sorry on your behalf. If there's anything I can do…" Zelgadis trailed off at the look on Lina's face.

" 'Anything you can do?' " Lina repeated, the utensil and cake halfway to her mouth. She dropped it with a clatter. "Don't have pity on me. I hate when people pity me."

"I just want to help – "

"They all want to help!" Lina suddenly shouted. The other diners turned to stare at them. "Everybody wants to help poor little me! I'm working my ass off to get somewhere in life, and then some snobby, rich, self-righteous jerk shows 'pity' on me and wastes all my efforts. I'm never going to get anywhere if I can't do it myself. Do you understand?!"

Zelgadis simply nodded. Lina shoved her chair away from the table and stood up.

"Thanks for the meal. See ya around," she mumbled. She left the restaurant in a hurry.


	4. Dancer in a Daydream

Chapter 3 – Dancer in a Daydream

Lina poked her head past the door of her family apartment and took a quick look around. _So far, so good,_ she thought as she scanned the living room. _Looks like Onee-chan isn't home-_

"Lina, where have you been?" the voice froze Lina in her tracks, with one foot raised to cross the threshold. Quickly removing all emotion from her face, Lina turned around and smiled at her older sister.

"I… I just went down to the drugstore. You know, that time of the month and everything…" Lina explained, hoping that her sister would show a rare smidgen of sympathy and also hoping she wouldn't catch the small white lie. _Of course not,_ Lina thought dejectedly as Luna crossed her arms and frowned at Lina, unintentionally pushing her well-endowed chest in Lina's face.

"I was just there. You, apparently, weren't."

"… um… well, I was, earlier today, and then I went to the movies for awhile –"

"Show me your ticket stub."

_Dammit! Onee-chan is going to be so pissed off…_ Lina grumbled in her mind. She rooted through all of her pockets, pretending to look for the ticket, while her brain churned for an explanation to give to Luna.

"It's here somewhere…" she mumbled, and suddenly, her hand closed on something. Pulling it out revealed it to be a movie ticket. Albeit, it was from last week, but Luna didn't know that. Lina prayed that her sister wouldn't look too carefully.

"We don't have that kind of money to spend on frivolous expenditures like that," Luna finally replied after glancing at the ticket. She walked past Lina into the room. "Mom's down at the Bottom, so she'll be awhile."

Great, just great. Mom's off getting trashed while I have to sit at home with Luna. Lina closed the door. The bar Bottom's Up was well known for its many fights and indiscretions. Lina's mother was there so often she was on a first name basis with all the bartenders. Even some of the busboys. Often, she was out until dawn and came staggering back home to a sympathetic Lina. Luna usually left before then, for heaven knows what. Lina suspected a boyfriend but hadn't the guts to ask Luna the truth.

"I'll be in my room." Lina hurried to the hallway.

"What about dinner?"

"I'm not hungry." Lina had her hand on the doorknob to her room when Luna called her back.

"Don't forget your CD player." Luna held out the boom box, which Lina took with trembling hands and a pale face.

"Um… thanks," Lina stammered. She immediately sought shelter in her room.

Once inside, Lina set down her possession and threw herself on her bed. She knows. She knows I wasn't at the movie theater. I had my CD player with me, and everybody knows you don't take CD players to the movies. But why did she let it slide? Why? Normally, onee-chan would beat… well, she didn't. I guess I should be happy. Dammit, why? She never does anything simply because. There must be some kind of ulterior motive. But now what? Mum's not home so I don't dare go out there with Luna. I guess I'll just… 

Suddenly inspired, Lina grabbed a spiral bound notebook off her desk, snagged a pen from the floor, and started writing.

Dear Journal,

I was dancing in my clearing again today. Well, I know it's not exactly mine, but nobody else even knows about it… Until today, that is. I was minding my own business when this guy comes barging in with a shocked look on his face. Immediately I got all angry like I always do. It seems to scare away all the other guys I meet, so I thought it would work on him. But it didn't. He apologized and took me out for lunch. Lunch! At a really nice restaurant, too. He must be loaded, to spend money like that on a poor girl like me. He wasn't that bad look –

Lina blushed and erased the last line. Even though her journal was supposed to be for private thoughts, and only her eyes should ever see it, she still had a hard time writing down what her mind already knew. She continued:

I wonder if I'll ever see him again… He seemed really nice. I think I might've scared him away at the end, though. I kinda blew up in his face. But really, I couldn't help it. It just makes me so mad when people try to do things for me. I'll never get anywhere in life if I can't do it myself. You know? 

And then Luna almost killed me when I got home. I told her I was at the movies. Hah. Funny. If she ever found out where I really spend all my time, she'd probably break my CD player and me, too. For some reason, she doesn't like it when I'm having fun. She doesn't like it when I do the things I love to do. I don't know if that makes something wrong with her or me, but… whatever. Well, that's all for tonight. 

Lina

***

The next day…

"Where's your classical literature section?" Zelgadis asked the bored-looking young lady behind the bookstore information desk. The girl gestured vaguely behind her without looking up from her book. Biting back a vitriolic retort, Zelgadis nodded his thanks and headed in that direction.

The rows upon rows of books always brought Zelgadis a sense of security. He loved to immerse himself in literature. He felt as though he could get lost in the bookstore and nobody would ever find him, which would be perfectly fine by him. Considering the large, comfortable chairs the bookstore provided, spaced throughout the store, Zelgadis often grabbed a book at random and settled down to read away the day.

Today, however, he was on a mission. Being so close to his favorite reading chair and knowing he couldn't stay was a very unpleasant feeling. But he didn't have time to waste today. In and out, that's all he could afford.

The book he needed was for one of his comparative literature classes. Unfortunately, the precise version he needed was nowhere to be found. Zelgadis thumped his hand on one of the shelves in frustration as his eyes scanned the bindings, not finding what he was looking for.

"Hey, we'll have to charge you for property damage if you do that again," a waspish voice needled Zelgadis. A redheaded girl poked her head into the aisle and immediately her eyebrows went up. "Hey. It's you."

"Lina? You work here?" Zelgadis took in the sharply dressed girl and the annoyed look that began to take form on her face.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"Well, no. I just thought… you didn't seem to be…"

"I didn't look like I could hold down a job? Gee, thanks Zel. You're a real great guy." Lina crossed her arms and leaned against the shelf Zelgadis had been beating on. Zelgadis's vein above his eye twitched in response to the nickname.

"My name is not Zel. It's Zelgadis."

"Same diff. Now, why exactly are you beating up our bookshelves? I'm sure they didn't do you any harm. They don't bite… much."

"I'm not 'beating up' anything," Zelgadis replied, trying to keep his temper under control. For some reason, this girl managed to get under his skin faster than anyone else he knew. "I'm looking for a book for a comparative literature class, and I can't find it."

"I'll help you look. What's the title, and who's it by?"

"Beowulf. I need the transliteration by Seamus Heaney. The other ones won't do."

"I've read that before. Pretty good, for something written by a bunch of monks hundreds of years ago." Lina knelt down and began pulling books out of the shelf.

"You've… read Beowulf?"

"Don't sound surprised. I may not be in school right now, but that doesn't mean I'm a total idiot."

"Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that most people don't read classics like that on their own." Zelgadis knelt beside Lina and looked at the books she pulled out.

"Okay, looks like we don't have it in stock right now. I'm fairly sure we do carry it, though, so I can order it and it'll be here in a week or less."

"When is the soonest you'll get it in?"

"Three days, if we're lucky." Lina shoved the books back into their rightful place, stood up, and dusted off her hands. "Follow me to the computer. I can do it right from there." Zelgadis acquiesced.

Their conversation died a terrible, sudden death, and the only sounds reaching Zelgadis's ears were the quick clacking of the keyboard keys and strains of Vivaldi's "Winter" over the speakers. He felt obliged to say something. The virtual silence was an uncomfortable weight.

"Lina… I'm sorry for what I said in the restaurant yesterday. I didn't know you would be so upset. I never would've said anything if…" Zelgadis's voice trailed off as he stared at Lina's blank face. She didn't look mad or upset. Rather, she seemed to be contemplating something. After another uncomfortable moment of silence, she nodded and went back to typing.

"Apology accepted. I'm sorry I blew up like that. I was way out of line." She paused a moment. "I need your phone number so we can call you when your book gets in." Zelgadis rattled off his number and Lina typed it in. "All set."

"When do you get off work?" Zelgadis suddenly heard himself say. Completely taken by surprise at this outburst, Zelgadis's mind went entirely blank. The equally astonished look on Lina's face was like a boot in Zelgadis's backside.

"Umm… not for a few hours. Unfortunately."

"Oh… okay." _Great, Zelgadis. Sound like a complete mental moron,_ Zelgadis thought. "Well, see you around, then." He turned to walk away when Lina coughed.

"But I don't work at all tomorrow."

"You don't." The words came out more like a statement than a question.

"Nope."

"I have a full day of classes tomorrow."

"Oh."

The two people stared at each other, both feeling the oppressive weight of inadequate words and things left unsaid; feelings unexplored and questions unanswered.

"See you later." Lina turned away to hide the disappointed look that came unbidden to her face.

"Yeah. Bye."

With this brilliant closing statement, Zelgadis departed from the bookstore.


	5. Meddlesome

Chapter 4 – Meddlesome

Zelgadis paused on the stoop in front of his parent's brownstone. He didn't want to go in. He really, really did not want to go inside. It wasn't that he despised his parents; rather, they were too domineering and he tried to spend as little time with them as possible. It was their life goal, it seemed, to rule Zelgadis's life and he was to be simply relegated to the role of puppet.

Nearby, a sparrow lighted on the ground and pecked at a few morsels left over from someone's bag of popcorn. A car roared to life a few houses down. An old man wandered down the sidewalk, mumbling under his breath the shopping list his wife had given him.

The world seemed so happy, so peaceful out here. Zelgadis stepped away from the stoop. _Another day_, he thought. _Just not this day._

The sparrow took flight. Zelgadis began to walk away from the brownstone when the front door swung inward and a small body launched itself out of the house.

"BIG BROTHER!" the little whirlwind screamed, bowling over Zelgadis.

"Briar! Shouldn't you be in school right now?" Zelgadis asked as he stumbled back with his little sister's arms clamped tightly around his waist.

"Naw, it's an inservice day!" Briar lifted her head from Zelgadis's midsection and scrunched her nose. "Whatever that means."

Zelgadis laughed and ruffled Briar's head of unruly mahogany-brown hair. His little sister was only ten, and already she was exhibiting signs of a free spirit and strong will. If nothing else, it cheered Zelgadis to know Briar would give their parents hell when she reached her teenage years.

"Mom's in the family room," Briar informed her brother as they entered the brownstone. Zelgadis didn't see much choice in the matter; Briar would never let him leave now. "Can you take me to the zoo later?"

"I can't, Bri. I have a full day of classes today. I won't be able to stay long even now." Zelgadis silently thanked his lucky stars for that.

"Oh fine." Briar pouted, then smiled brightly. "Tomorrow maybe?"

"Sure. Tomorrow sounds great."

"Thank you, Zel!" Briar beamed up at him. She ran for the stairs, then suddenly paused on the first step. Without turning around, she said, "I hope you like her," and disappeared.

_Like her? Like who?_ Zelgadis thought as he made his way to the family room. His mother hadn't said why she wanted him to visit today. That wasn't any reason to be nervous, however; she usually didn't have reasons for wanting him home.

Zelgadis entered the family room and wished he hadn't. He wished he was back outside, with the sparrow and the car and the old man. Because he suddenly knew why his mother called him over, even when she knew he had a busy day.

Elena Graywords stood up with a warm smile on her aged but beautiful face. Seated with her back to the door and facing Elena, was a young brunette lady. At Elena's rise, the young woman also stood up and turned to greet him. Elena rushed forward.

"There you are, my son!" she exclaimed, embracing Zelgadis. "Zelgadis, dear, this is Amelia Saillune. She's been waiting to meet you."

Zelgadis locked eyes with Amelia and watched in abject horror as a delicate blush lit up Amelia's cheeks. Yes, indeed, he did know why his mother requested him home…

Standing quite a bit shorter than he – and Lina, too, Zelgadis noted absentmindedly, - Amelia Saillune was a perfectly petite, adorable doll of a lady. Except… Zelgadis quickly brought his gaze back to Amelia's face. The image of her well-endowed chest burned in his brain. Scolding himself for even allowing his gaze to travel, Zelgadis stepped forward.

"Hello, Amelia," he said, shaking her hand gently. The smooth, birdlike hand felt warm but dry in his cold hands.

"Hello, Mr. Zelgadis," she replied, batting her large blue eyes at him innocently. The action somehow managed to be modest and inviting all at once. Her luxurious dark hair gleamed in the bright light of the room.

"Miss Amelia is the daughter of Philionel Saillune, head of Saillune Industries. Your father and Philionel are planning on a merger soon." Elena smiled at Zelgadis. Her eyes held things left unsaid, and those thoughts manifested in Zelgadis's brain.

He could tell, right from the beginning, that his parents were hoping to set him up with this girl. He didn't know why, at first, but his mother's statement gave him all the answers he needed. It was so like his father, Zelgadis wasn't the least bit surprised. If Zelgadis were to marry Amelia, it would bring the two families closer together, thus insuring a strong bond between Saillune Industries and Graywords & Co. It made Zelgadis sick to know his father was using him - and this girl, incidentally – to further his business.

"It was nice to meet you, Amelia, but I have to go." Zelgadis turned away from the crestfallen look on Amelia's face and glanced at his mother. "If I don't go now, I'll be late for class."

"I thought maybe you could take the day off and show Amelia the city. It's only her second time here, after all," Elena pressed. Zelgadis ignored the disapproving look she shot him.

"I would love to, really, but I can't miss today's classes." Zelgadis began backing out of the room. There was no way his mother was going to make him stay. "Goodbye, Amelia. Goodbye, mother."

"Zelgadis-" the protest died on Elena's lips as her son darted down the hallway, shouted "Gotta go! Later!", and disappeared into the world outside.


	6. Guilt, or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof

Chapter 5 – Guilt, or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof

Saturday. Probably the most celebrated day of the week. No school, no work; nothing but relaxing in the sun. Zelgadis whistled a simple tune as he approached his parents' brownstone for the second time that week. This time, he was prepared for any assault his parents might deign necessary. And if all else failed, he could count on help from Briar, who would gladly get him out of any pickle.

Just as the day before, the door flung open and Briar came barreling out. Her long hair was plaited into two braids, which swished around her as she bounced down the steps.

"Let's go, oniichan!" she said. She held up a small blue camera with butterfly stickers on it. "I've got my camera and everything!"

"All right. I have to let Mom know we're leaving, though. Just wait here a second." Zelgadis hid a smile as Briar sighed loudly, her impatience very clear.

Inside, Zelgadis walked no further than the entranceway. Any deeper into the house, and he might not come back out again any time soon.

"Mom, we're leaving now! We'll be back later!" he yelled. Having done the "responsible older brother" thing, he beat a hasty retreat.

"Wait, Zelgadis!" Elena Graywords called back. Zelgadis cursed under his breath. He wasn't even across the threshold yet. Just a bit further, and he could have feigned that he hadn't heard. With a growl of impatience, Zelgadis pasted a falsely cheerful smile on his face and turned around.

"Yeah Mom?" The smile vanished as Zelgadis watched Elena hurry towards him with a sheepish Amelia in tow.

"Zelgadis, why doesn't Amelia go with you? It would be a perfect opportunity to show her around the city and get to know her more," Elena said. The glare spoke volumes more than the words did. If Zelgadis refused, he'd be in deep sh–

"Sure, why not?" Zelgadis flashed a very brief, very tight smile. Amelia blushed and followed him outside. Briar sat on the waist-high wall bordering the steps, kicking her feet violently against the bricks and yelling a song at the top of her lungs.

"Hey, Yoko. We're leaving now," Zelgadis said, snagging a braid and giving it a tug. Briar stuck her tongue out at him and leapt off the wall.

"Ame-chan, you're coming with us?" Briar asked, gazing up at Amelia.

"Yes, I am. I hope you don't mind," Amelia replied. Her genuine smile made Zelgadis feel a little guilty for allowing her to come, under false pretenses.

"Naw, that's cool." Briar nodded her acceptance and began humming a tune. Together the trio crossed the street and began the short walk to the zoo.

"Mr. Zelgadis… I'm sorry for intruding like this. I only stopped by this morning to drop off some papers my father wanted your father to have. I wasn't expecting to accompany you…" Amelia's soft smile warmed a small piece of Zelgadis's cynical heart.

"Don't worry about it. My mother has a strange way of… well, of doing everything," Zelgadis replied. "Did you have somewhere else to be? You don't have to follow us if you don't want to."

"No, I have no plans for the rest of the day. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay with you." Amelia blushed yet again. Zelgadis had a bad feeling this girl already had a crush on him, even though this was only their second meeting.

The rest of the walk was in relative silence, except for Briar's random musical accompaniment. Zelgadis wasn't sure what to think of his current predicament. He had no real interest in Amelia, other than perhaps casual friendship. They barely knew each other. Of course, that was the whole point of Elena Graywords practically shoving Amelia at Zelgadis. It wasn't the first time it's happened, either. Elena and Maxwell Graywords were near fanatics about their son's love life, ever since **she** died. Girls would constantly show up on Zelgadis's doorstep, as if by magic, but all bearing the mark of his parents. Always polite but never sincere, Zelgadis turned each and every one of them away. He thought his parents would have given up by now, but apparently, the new business deal between Saillune Industries and Graywords & Co. offered them a perfect opportunity to meddle even further in his life. Zelgadis had suffered through a year of pain and despair and anguish. He wasn't ready for any sort of relationship again. Not after that… No, Zelgadis Graywords wanted nothing more to do with women.

_Then what's up with that Lina girl?_ a voice in Zelgadis's mind prodded.

_You shut up. You're just a voice,_ was the miffed and inane reply.

"Zelgadis, I wanna see the monkeys first! Can we go see the monkeys?!" Briar shouted as they entered the zoo. She squealed in delight as Zelgadis nodded his head. Without a moment's pause, she took off for the monkey house.

"Your sister is adorable," Amelia commented as she and Zelgadis followed Briar, although much more slowly.

"Yeah, well, you haven't seen her temper tantrums yet," Zelgadis replied. Amelia smiled.

"So, what is it you're studying at the university?" Amelia asked politely.

"My father wants me to major in business, so that someday I'll take over Graywords & Co., but I really have no interest in it. I'm hoping to get a major in English. So I'm pretty much sticking to both areas of study. You?"

"Politics!" This exclamation caused both Zelgadis's eyebrows to shoot towards his hairline. Amelia flushed with embarrassment. "Well, I really want to make the world a better place. I want to be in a position where people will be able to listen to what I say and where I can take action. Daddy – I mean, my father – also wanted me to study business, but he supports my decision."

"Politics," Zelgadis repeated. "Never have I seen a word as accurate as politics: poly meaning many, and tic being a blood-sucking thing." Immediately Zelgadis regretted saying such words to a future politician, but Amelia only laughed.

"Hey, not all politicians are bad," she said, then at the look on Zelgadis's face, amended: "Okay, so maybe they are. But I'm not going to be. I hope to change the way people look at politics."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it."

They continued to chat idly about anything that happened to come up. They followed Briar through the zoo, making faces at the reptiles and being accosted by the birds in the aviary. Zelgadis desperately wanted to ask Amelia what she thought about the way their parents were pushing them together, but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. After antagonizing over it to the point of insanity, Zelgadis finally asked.

They were all resting in the shade of an oak tree, drinking sodas and munching on a bag of popcorn. Setting aside his Coca-Cola, Zelgadis turned to watch Amelia and Briar throw popcorn to the squirrels.

"Amelia, what do you think of all this?"

"The zoo?" Amelia asked, confusion coloring her face.

"No, about the way our parents are setting us up." Zelgadis watched Amelia for any signs that might clue him in on her feelings. Amelia tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and tilted her head towards him.

"Well, I think it was very nice of them to introduce us. I like you a lot, Mr. Zelgadis. You're a fun person to be with," she began.

"No, not like that. I mean… them trying to get us together for their own profit. If we were to marry-"

"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia blushed a fierce shade of pink. "Marriage is the furthest thing from my mind right now! I don't know what you're talking about. My father would never use me like that. What makes you say such a thing?"

Zelgadis simply stared at Amelia. She wasn't lying. She believed everything she said. Zelgadis, after having a year of practice at discerning lies from truth, was a pro at detecting lies. Amelia was completely innocent of the matter. Either Amelia hadn't figured it out yet, or Zelgadis was a paranoid freak and it only existed in his mind. The latter seemed to be the correct choice…

"I'm sorry, Amelia. Just forget I said anything. I wasn't thinking straight," Zelgadis amended. He turned away from the questioning look.

"A-all right," Amelia replied quietly. After a few moments of relative silence, Amelia cleared her throat. "Shall we continue?"

Zelgadis turned back to find her smiling at him again, as though she really had erased the last few moments. Briar crawled over to where Zelgadis was and tugged on his arm.

"C'mon, oniichan! We still have the tigers and elephants to see!" she exclaimed. Zelgadis stood and helped Amelia to her feet. Briar jumped up and ran for the elephant enclosure.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, except when one of the elephants sprayed the water it had been holding in its trunk all over the innocent bystanders. Zelgadis and Amelia were soaked, and as they stood there, shrieking and laughing from the sudden downpour, Briar snapped a picture. It had been a long time since she had seen her big brother smile like that. It was a genuine, glad-to-be-alive kind of smile. Not the I'm-in-no-mood-to-smile-but-I'll-smile-for-you smiles she always received when Zelgadis returned home.

The walk home was wet but happy. At the house, Amelia declined a set of Elena's clothes to change into, and instead called her chauffeur to come by and pick her up, and to have her own clothes waiting in the car.

"Thank you for allowing me to accompany you, Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said as she crawled into the back of a sleek black limo. _Daddy's girl for sure,_ Zelgadis thought. _Then again, my father would do the same…_

"Please, just call me Zelgadis."

"Okay… Zelgadis."

They parted with a smile. Zelgadis waved to the limo as it disappeared around a corner, and he wondered why, all of a sudden, something painful was tugging at his heart. Guilt, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Why would he… Then it hit him. _Lina._ But why would he feel guilty about a girl whom he barely knew? He met her twice. That wasn't enough time to manifest feelings… was it?


	7. Enter the Shadow

**Chapter 6 – Enter the Shadow**

Lina cracked open her door a bit and peered down the empty hallway. It was late, probably about midnight, and shadows morphed the small apartment into a veritable jungle. Her mother was, of course, gone, and as far as she knew, Luna was still out "working." What bothered Lina was the sounds she had heard coming from the kitchen. Had Luna returned earlier than usual?

After nothing jumped out to accost her, Lina slid into the hallway, keeping her back to the wall. She was wearing a sheer negligee for a nightgown, having thrown everything reasonable into the wash. Her pajamas consisted of silk short shorts and a gauzy, strappy ensemble that seemed to work for a top. Not even remembering her state of undress, Lina crept down the hall. She clutched a baseball bat in one hand. Her grip was secure and, in spite of appearances, Lina could do serious damage if provoked.

The sounds in the kitchen grew louder as whoever was in there clanked a few dishes together and began humming.

_If this is a burglar,_ Lina thought, _He or she is the stupidest person I've ever met…_

Peering into the kitchen, Lina sighed with relief and loosened her grip on her weapon of choice.

"Luna, you scared me. I didn't think you'd be home so early," she said, smiling abashedly. The figure standing in front of the fridge stood up and turned to her.

"I'm not Luna." The strange, disembodied male voice floated to Lina like a whisper in a nightmare. Shocked, Lina took a step back and began to raise her bat.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?!" she yelled. The stranger shut the refrigerator door, plunging the two of them into darkness. Lina could barely make out a hand reaching toward her. She swung blindly and heard the bat connect with the plaster of the wall.

"Relax, I'm just turning on the light," the intruder laughed, flicking on the light switch close to Lina's left elbow. The kitchen flooded with harsh light, and Lina blinked away the spots.

Standing on the cracked linoleum floor was a young man who looked remarkably like Luna. Short, cropped violet hair swished around a pale face that beamed in delight. Lina couldn't really see the stranger's eyes, as they were hidden behind violet bangs.

"You must be Luna's little sister Lina," the stranger commented, putting his slender hands on his well-dressed hips. "Aren't you a little firebrand tigress? Meee-ow."

"You haven't answered me, scumbag. Who are you?" Lina demanded.

"I'm Xelloss. Luna's new beau. Hope I didn't scare you too much," Xelloss intoned. He took a few steps forward and made a move as if to caress Lina's bare arm. She jerked away and glared at the strange man.

"You're Luna's boyfriend? You look just like her," Lina exclaimed, not stopping to think of her choice of words. A muscle in Xelloss's cheek jumped.

"Yes, well…" his voice sounded tight and slightly less in control than it had a moment before. After an uncomfortable silence, Xelloss laughed. "My dear girl, you're such a tease."

"What are you doing in my kitchen? Where's Luna?" Lina ignored the taunt.

"I'm in your kitchen because I'm absolutely famished," Xelloss replied. He took in an appreciative look at Lina, eyeing her from head to toe. He whistled. "Although you might be enough to satiate my hunger."

Lina glanced down at herself and blushed furiously. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders.

"Shut up, scumbag," she grumbled. Without warning, Xelloss pulled Lina close to him, grasping her by her upper arms and pushing his face close to hers.

"Aw, you don't really mean that, do you? I'm really quite charming, once you get to know me," Xelloss whispered, his warm breath caressing Lina's face. She shied away from him, only to find his nose nearly touching hers. "What's the matter, baby? Don't you like me?"

Before Lina could respond, Luna entered the room via the front door, a bag of groceries in her hand. All three people froze. One second dragged on for eternity. Luna strode forward, let the groceries fall from her hands, and pulled her sister away from her boyfriend. Lina cried out in pain as Luna's death grip on her neck tightened.

"What the hell is going on here?!" she demanded. Tears of pain sprang into Lina's eyes. She opened her mouth to explain when Xelloss spoke up.

"I don't know, Luna," he began slowly, shrugging his shoulders and leaning against the wall. "One minute I was making myself a sandwich, and the next, little Lina's trying to seduce me. I mean, I know I'm great and all, but sheesh, have a little restraint…"  
"No, Luna, that's not what happened…!" Lina tried to interject, but Luna had already turned her falcon gaze on the small redhead.

"You slut! I can't believe you!" With a frustrated growl, Luna slammed her little sister into the wall. The plaster cracked and Lina cried out.

"No, Luna, please…" The pleas were cut off as Luna shoved Lina to the floor and gave her a swift kick in the stomach. Words turned to a garbled mess. Xelloss went back to making his sandwich and humming as Luna continued to thrash Lina.

"You're always such a problem child! I wish you'd just die!" Luna screamed. Lina gave up trying to stand up and simply lay there. A massive headache throbbed in her temples, threatening to make her pass out before too long. A series of blows landed on Lina's face. White-hot stars of pain shot across her vision. _This, too, shall pass…_ she thought, trying not to scream.

Luna gave up shortly, all her rage used. She and Xelloss retired to Luna's room, leaving Lina curled up in a pitiful ball.

Seconds dragged into minutes, minutes into what seemed like hours. Eventually Lina dragged herself back to her bedroom, where she collapsed on the floor. She just managed to snag a soft blanket off her bed before sleep claimed her.

***

Zelgadis pushed open the door to the bookstore, whistling a silly tune he remembered from childhood. He wasn't sure why, exactly, he was in such a great mood. The trip to the zoo was several days ago, and school had commenced for the week once again. Normally schoolwork was a severe drain on his optimism, but today… today was different.

Zelgadis felt his heart flutter as he saw a familiar redhead disappear down an aisle. Maybe he DID know why today was going to be such a great day…

"Hey, Lina. I got a call saying my book was in," he said, following the petite girl down the row of bookcases. Lina didn't turn around or say anything. She simply stopped moving. Zelgadis came to a halt behind her. "Lina?"  
"Hey Zel," The melancholy reply threw Zelgadis off. From what he had seen, Lina was usually incredibly energetic. Before he could even ask what was wrong, Lina turned around. She kept her gaze averted from his eyes. Zelgadis tried not to recoil at the dark shadows and bruises mottling the perfect contours of her face. There was evidence of the application of foundation, probably to cover the bruises, but the extent of the damage was still pretty obvious.

"What happened?" he blurted. Lina quickly flicked her eyes up at Zelgadis's face, but she turned away just as quickly.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Okay, I know it's none of my business, but why are you at work today looking like that?"

"I feel fine. There's no reason why I shouldn't work," Lina replied. She did, however, remember the gruesome and sympathetic looks her co-workers gave her when she walked into work that morning. Her boss had even tried to get Lina to take the day off, but Lina insisted on staying.

Zelgadis wasn't sure what to say. He barely knew this girl, and he was correct: he had no business prying into her private life. She had already told him that her home life wasn't great, but maybe it was even worse than what she had lead him to believe.

"Look, you wanna go out for dinner later, maybe?" Zelgadis offered. It was a risky step. It was pretty much like asking Lina out on a date, and Zelgadis wasn't even sure what the redhead thought of him. But he also knew that she wasn't one to turn down food.

"… Maybe."

"When do you get off work?"

"In about an hour."

"Okay, how about I pick you up?" Zelgadis knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't really care. For some reason, he was nearly possessed with the need to get to know this girl.

"Fine." The briefest hint of a smile lit Lina's face for a moment. "See you in an hour."

***

An hour later, after getting the book he ordered and wandering around town to waste time, Zelgadis returned to the bookstore. Lina sat on the steps outside, her battered face lowered in her hands.

"Ready?" Zelgadis asked, offering his hand. Lina looked at it, then took it and helped herself to her feet.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"I thought we might head to the Olive Garden for some Italian. Is that okay?"  
'That's more than okay. Thanks, Zel."

He even let her get away with calling him Zel.

***

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Zelgadis knew he was prying, and his inner voice scolded him for being so nosy.

"Not really." Lina gulped down a glass of water and returned to her breadsticks and pasta.

"If you do…"

"Thanks, but I don't."

"…."

"So how's school going for you?" Lina changed the subject. There was no way she was going to tell Zelgadis how she let her sister beat her up. Not only did she barely know him, she didn't want to appear any weaker than she already looked.

"Fine, just fine. Boring and a waste of time, but at least I'll be getting a degree for it," Zelgadis replied, fiddling with his own entrée.

"Yeah, I always thought school was a waste of time. Degree or no degree," Lina added, chewing away savagely.

Silence fell across the table. Zelgadis contemplated how it was he had fallen for this crazy redheaded girl in such a short time. He did believe in love at first sight. After all, that's the way it had happened with **her**… But it did him no good to think about **her.** That was something he wanted to put in his past, where it belonged. That had been love at first sight, and perhaps that was the way it was with Lina. Or rather, love at second sight, because Lina looked remarkably so much like **she** did…

Lina desperately wanted to keep the conversation away from her home life. Sometimes Lina wanted someone to talk to, someone to share her life story with. At the moment, she just wanted to drown her sorrows in pasta and vinegar.

"Thanks for dinner," she mumbled into her plate.

"You're welcome," Zelgadis replied, equally distracted.

After the meal, Zelgadis and Lina walked along the sidewalk, not quite hand-in-hand, but close enough that their shoulders brushed together. Lina didn't want to go home. She knew exactly what awaited her there if she went now.

"So… wanna take a walk in the park?" she asked, feeling a faint blush cross the bridge of her nose.

"Uh… sure," Zelgadis replied, coughing and turning away to cover his own blush.

The duo linked hands, crossed the street, and entered the park.


	8. Tangled Webs We Weave

**Author Notes: **Ah, faithful readers. :) This is my gift to you – finally a continuation for Paint the Sky with Stars. I'm a bit out of touch with the whole storyline, so please forgive anything that may strike a note of discord within you. In non-highfalutin verbiage, this means ignore the mistakes. And if this chapter smacks of "Save the Last Dance", even a little bit, I'm very sorry. I needed to tie dancing into the story **somehow**, considering that's how I started this whole thing. And the bridge mentioned later is a bridge only for foot traffic. Like those really cool ones that look like they could support cars but are much better for random Gothic mystery scenes.

****

Chapter 7 – Tangled Webs We Weave

Days passed. Lina's bruises and cuts healed themselves, leaving perfectly pale peachy skin in their wake. Zelgadis continued to visit Lina at work, usually resulting in excursions to the zoo, museum, park, et cetera after Lina's shifts. Their friendship grew in leaps and bounds. Pretty soon, spending time with Zelgadis was the only thing Lina every looked forward to. Well… that, and getting her paycheck, but that was clearly a different sort of anticipation.

Lina rarely let her heart speak. It was annoying and obtrusive and generally useless, and she could function just fine with only her brain. But for whatever reason, it seemed as though her heart had been having its say more often than she cared to admit. Any speculation on her relationship with Zelgadis, however, was immediately annihilated. He was her best and only friend. She would never go so far as to say she loved him as anything more…

Right?

***

"You're really going to do it? I mean, this isn't just talk, but you're really going to apply to the Luiren?" Zelgadis exclaimed as he and Lina strolled along the boardwalk next to the river. They turned to walk across the bridge, passing all sorts of people. The air was dry, warmth seemed to radiate from everything in existence, and a very slight breeze wound its way along the water. Children roamed the sidewalks, their families meandering along behind them. Couples occupied benches, snuggled together in spite of the summer heat. It was the perfect night.

"I thought I might as well. I mean, I can't go under the current financial circumstances, but if I win a full-ride scholarship, I will crawl on hot coals to go." Lina veered off to the side and stopped to lean against the bridge's railing. She stared off into the gorgeous sunset.

"Lina… that's great," Zelgadis said, taking his place next to her. "I really hope you win. As a matter of fact, I'm almost sure you will."

"Thanks… but… I'm not that confident in my skills. I may be good to someone like you." Here Lina chuckled at the affronted look on Zelgadis's face. "No offense, but compared to the profs at Jullien, you know Jack schist."

"You could've at least found a nicer way to put it," Zelgadis grumbled, mock resentment contorting his features. Lina laughed out loud, ignoring the strange looks from passersby as she snorted unflatteringly.

"How did a rich snob like you get to be so cool?" Lina finally managed to ask between gasps of breath.

"Well, it's simple, really. I just stole what little cool was left in all the other rich snobs until I had enough to make myself sufficient."

"You're weird."

"I know."

"In a good way."

"I know."

Comfortable silence fell between the two. The rest of the world seemed so far away. Suddenly, the string of Japanese lanterns strung across the bridge flooded with light, spilling specks across the bystanders below. Children giggled and continued to romp around on the cobblestones.

Zelgadis turned his head slightly so he could get a better look at Lina as she continued to gaze at the sunset. He couldn't bring himself to out-right stare at her; to him, that seemed a little bit like invading her privacy. But he couldn't help but gaze at her from the corner of his eye.

Lina was one of those people who are beautiful in an unconventional sort of way. By normal standards, she was a pretty young lady but she still had her flaws. Take, for instance, the small bump where her nose had been broken many years ago and never recovered fully, or the scar tissue dotting a diagonal line on her forehead. Zelgadis, of course, took these all in stride. Lina reminded him of **her** to the point of insanity. The resemblance was uncanny. True, **she** was much more fair and gentle, tall and willowy compared to Lina's diminutive stature and decidedly aggressive nature, but they both carried themselves in much the same way…

_But that is neither here nor there_, Zelgadis thought, quickly rescuing his brain from those traitorous, hijacking thoughts.

"Zel?"

"Hmm?"

"Umm… never mind." Zelgadis looked at Lina quizzically.

"Did you have something to say?" he asked. Lina turned her face away, blushing.

"Ah, nothing important."

"O…kay…" Zelgadis replied, turning his attention to the river slowly bumbling along below them. Several minutes passed in silence.

"Ah… Zel?"

"What?"

"… Sorry, never mind."

"Stop doing that!" Zelgadis, exasperated, turned so Lina had his full and undivided attention. "Just tell me whatever's on your mind."

"Well, I was just thinking about how nice this is. And how I wish I could do this all the time. With you. You know, going for walks. With you. In the park and stuff. With you." Lina felt like kicking herself, but she substituted a savage chewing of her bottom lip. _Way to go, Lina,_ she though. _You sound like an incoherent idiot._

"We **have** been going on walks…" Zelgadis interjected, confused about where this was going. "All the time."

"Oh. Yeah. Well. I know that. I'm just saying," Lina replied. _Make that blithering idiot._ "I mean, I never do anything with my sister. She hates me. And I rarely see Mom. And I don't have any other friends. So I'm really glad that you're always around. You're like family to me. More than my real blood relations." _Oh, I so hope he doesn't think I mean like a big brother!!_

"I wish your home life was better than that," Zelgadis said, seemingly unaware of the unintentional hidden message in Lina's statement. "Although I can't really say mine is much better. So I guess we just have each other, then. I read somewhere that there are two kinds of families: the kind you are born into and will never been rid of, and the kind that you build yourself."

"Smart words."

"Yeah."

_Kiss her._ Zelgadis nearly choked on the air he was breathing as the soft words whispered through his mind. He looked around wildly, thinking maybe someone else, someone near him, had uttered the words. Only Lina stood by him, and she was off in some dream world with a wistful expression on her face.

_Kiss her._ Zelgadis dropped his head to rest against the bridge railing. The voice, his own voice, built like a tsunami in his mind, crashing over and over onto his other thoughts. Soon, it was all he could think of.

_Kiss her!_

"Say… Lina…" Zelgadis managed to wheeze out through his constricted lungs. Lina turned to him, expectant.

"Yeah? What?"

"If I… uh… that is, would you…" Zelgadis mentally threw himself into a dungeon to rot for all eternity. No way should Lina be subject to his random acts of stupidity. Zelgadis lapsed into silence.

Lina, not knowing what to make of the situation, stepped closer to him.

"Don't be afraid to tell me anything," she said. "You know I won't laugh-"

Before he could change his mind, Zelgadis bent down and kissed Lina lightly on the lips.

****

Well.

That was certainly… different.

_He… I… kiss… AHH!_ Lina's brain went AWOL as Zelgadis hastily stepped back, blushing fiercely and mumbling apologies.

"… urk…" Usually the articulate one, Lina's scintillating wit was reduced to this odd gurgle.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Lina, I don't know why I did that-" Zelgadis began rambling, half with self-loathing and half with embarrassment.

"No, Zel…"

"…it was really stupid of me…"

"Stop it…"

"…didn't really mean to take us to the next level…"

"Shut up, Zel!"

"… I can't believe-"

Lina silenced Zelgadis the only way she knew how.

She kissed him.

***

Amelia loved this city. She hadn't been here long, but already she was enraptured by the buildings, enchanted by the people, and captivated by the atmosphere. She especially loved the park. It was amazing, this little oasis in the midst of gargantuan pillars of glass and metal.

Her father went into conniptions when she declared she was going out for a walk by herself this evening. They had called the Graywords, thinking they would snag Zelgadis to be her guardian, but he was nowhere to be found. Amelia finally convinced her father that she was fully capable of taking care of herself, she would be in a public place with lots of people, she had her cell phone, et cetera.

_I wonder where Zelgadis is?_ Amelia thought as she walked beside the river, reveling in the barely-there breeze and the fading glow of the sun. _As much as I wanted to do this alone and prove myself, it would have been nice to be here with him… Huh?_

Amelia stopped and swiveled her head. She squinted her eyes. Was that…? It was! In the quickly disappearing light of day, Amelia could just make out the figure of Zelgadis leaning casually on the bridge railing. Thrilled yet nervous, Amelia changed directions and picked up her pace, running towards the handsome young man.

As her point of view changed, however, she caught sight of the petite woman beside him. They were standing nearly shoulder to shoulder, both peering down into the river below. Amelia stopped, her momentum causing her to stumble a few footsteps.

Amelia, being the naïve, unassuming sort of person, didn't think much of the twilight tête-à-tête. Curious, and slightly disturbed, she wandered away from Zelgadis and back along her original path. Surely he wouldn't want someone to interrupt his… his… what? Date? Meeting? Maybe it meant nothing. Amelia glanced over her shoulder, but her footsteps had already carried her beyond sight of the bridge. _But who…_

_ Who is that girl he's with?_

***

"Zelgadis, we need to talk."

Zelgadis paused in his humming, the silly smile slipping from his face. The stern expression on his mother's face was enough to stop most small mammals dead in their tracks. Looking at his father, Zelgadis grimaced. Twice the trouble, it seemed.

"Um… sure…" Zelgadis replied warily. He followed them into the family room and took a seat on the couch. Generally speaking, "we need to talk" meant "You've done something we disapprove of and we're going to lecture you to death for it." Zelgadis couldn't, for the life of him, think of anything he'd done wrong. At least not recently.

"Amelia has informed us of… something that happened a few days ago."

_What?_ Zelgadis hadn't even seen Amelia for a week. What on earth were his parents talking about?

"I must say, we're rather upset by this. It explains your erratic behavior we've noticed for the last couple of weeks, but, nevertheless, it is unacceptable." Elena Graywords looked at her husband, urging him to continue.

"What are you guys talking about? I haven't done anything!" Zelgadis exclaimed. Sweat beaded on his brow, although he had nothing to be nervous about… right?

"Son, who is this… _girl_ you've been seeing? And why haven't you told us about her?" Maxwell Graywords asked.

Zelgadis froze. _Lina? This is about Lina? Why do they care…?_

"I met her a few weeks ago, her name is Lina…"

"You know full well that you are not allowed to see girls we haven't approved of!" Elena exploded. Zelgadis, incredulous, stared at his mother.

"What the hell…?" he began, but his father waved him off with quick motion of his hand.

"Watch your language, Zelgadis," he commanded, ignoring the growing look of rage on his son's face. "What's the matter with Amelia? She is a fine girl, and she will make a fine wife. There's no need for you to tramp off with some girl you picked up on the street-"

"Dad, it's not like she's some homeless waif, although that shouldn't matter even if she was! I don't know where you get off telling me whom I can and can't see, and it's absolute bullsh-" Zelgadis checked himself, but just barely. "-crap you setting up an arranged marriage like we're in the 1800s!"

"Don't you use that tone of voice with me!"

"I'm just saying-"

"We've given you everything, Zelgadis! Why do you insist on making everything so difficult?" Elena looked exasperated. Zelgadis couldn't believe his ears. Wasn't it his parents who were making things difficult? Wasn't it them who were ruining his life? Why were they being so damn unreasonable?!

"I'm not being-"

"You are forbidden to see this Lina person again. If you go anywhere, it's with Amelia. You're breaking her heart. How can you be so cold? You never call her, you barely talk to her when she's over here… I can't believe I've raised such an ungrateful son…"

"Mother!"

"Zelgadis, you obey your mother!"

"But-"

"This discussion is over!"

Some discussion. It was, as all "We need to talk" talks eventually are, a yelling session in which Zelgadis has all of 6.75 lines, his parents make it clear how disappointed they are of him, and an ultimatum is thrown out.

Never see Lina?

Like **_hell_**.


	9. Diseased

Chapter 8 – Diseased

Lina slammed her bedroom door shut, her heart thudding painfully inside her ribcage. She leaned against the wood and took a deep breath. At the light knocking on the other side of the door, Lina pushed the lock in.

"Lina-chan, I didn't mean it," the deceptively silky voice oozed through the door. Lina cringed as though the words congealed in her ears. "Let me in, please? Let me explain…"  
"No," Lina whispered. She left the door and went to stand in front of her window. She slid up the glass and stood shivering in the wind. _Unclean,_ she thought. _I feel unclean…_ The breeze did nothing to ease her troubled mind.

The doorknob rattled.

"Come on, Tiger, let me in," the voice grew more insistent and impatient. Lina didn't blink, didn't budge, barely breathed.

How did it happen? It wasn't her fault… was it? Of course not, but somehow, she imagined there was a way she could have prevented it.

_Lina entered her apartment and was greeted with the sight of Xelloss lounging on the couch wearing only a pair of silk boxers. His odd-colored eyes slid up and down Lina's figure, but he remained immobile in front of the TV. Lina felt her blood begin a slow boil. She knew Luna wasn't home, yet Xelloss was here anyway._

_ "What are you doing here?" Lina demanded, unable to help herself from snapping at the greasy man before her._

_ "Waiting. Resting. What does it matter to you?" was the reply. One thing Lina was grateful for was his apparent lack of interest in her. Xelloss had resumed watching the TV. Lina hastily kicked off her shoes by the door and made her way into the bathroom without answering the question. _

_She stared long and hard at the shower curtain, debating whether or not to take a shower with the strange man in the house. She felt terribly grubby and definitely needed one, but the lock on the door was notoriously flimsy and she most certainly did not trust Xelloss to stay away._

_ No, she was not going to let her fear of Xelloss control her life. Besides, she had a date later that evening with Zelgadis. There was no chance in Hades she would go without taking a shower. Making sure the door was as securely locked as possible, Lina undressed and quickly washed up. She could not, however, stop herself from peeking out from behind the curtain to glance at the doorknob every few moments._

_ Her shower went without incident, and Lina sighed in relief as she clambered out of the tub and grabbed her yukata. She took a half-step in the direction of the sink and slipped on a puddle formed in her hurry to dress quickly. Down she fell, uttering a curse sharp enough to cut steel and banging her head on the rim of the tub. _

_ "Dammit," she breathed as the world swam in blacks and reds._

_ Lina didn't realize she had passed out for a while until she was aware of subtle differences in the room, such as the dark figure next to her, or the bathroom door ajar, or the cold hand moving up the inside of her thigh. Lina's eyes snapped open and she swung her fist out, hoping to connect with someone's jaw._

_ "Shit," came the satisfactory grunt._

_ "Don't touch me," Lina exclaimed, climbing to her feet and backing out into the hallway. She meant to sound tough and scary but her voice betrayed feelings. Her words were only half-whispers, laced with fear and disgust. Xelloss, rubbing his jaw lightly, grinned from his position on the tile floor._

_ "Sorry, Tiger, I was worried you might be hurt," he replied._

_ "You… don't ever touch me like that again," she continued, as though the words themselves would prevent him from doing so. _He must have heard me fall… _she thought. _He must've broken the lock on the door… and he… touched me… How long was I out? How long was he in there with me…? _Without waiting for another reply, Lina retreated to her room._

"I only wanted to make sure you were all right, Lina," Xelloss explained, voice muffled. "I heard the clatter and though you might've seriously hurt yourself."

"Go away!"

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you –"  
"Offended me?! You damn near violated me, you son of a –"

"I didn't do anything like that, I swear-"

"Like your word means anything to me! Get the hell out of my house!!"

There was silence on the other side of the door. Lina tightened the sash on her yukata and crawled into bed, fearing the worst had happened.

_How long was he there? What did he really do? Oh, Zelgadis…_

Sometime later, there was another knock on the door.

"Lina, open up or I swear I'll kill you!" Luna. Such a loving, caring sister.

_She's already going to kill me,_ Lina thought, _especially after hearing Xelloss's side to this story._

Taking a deep breath, Lina prepared herself for what was to come and opened the door.

Zelgadis looked at his watch, glanced down the street, and looked at his watch again. Okay, so maybe being five minutes late isn't a big deal. Ten is definitely pushing it. But when you hit twenty, something has got to be wrong.

"C'mon, Lina, where are you?" he muttered under his breath. He paced up and down the sidewalk and, out of habit, checked his watch again. They had planned to meet in front of the downtown Starbucks, on the corner of Cherry and Miller, at 7:00. It was now 7:21 and counting.

At last a figure clad in black approached the coffee shop. Zelgadis, relieved but too stubborn to admit it, held out his wrist and tapped his watch.

"You're late, Lina. Something up I should know about…?" Zelgadis began his admonish but trailed off when he caught a glimpse of Lina's face. It had, until she walked within a few paces of him, been tilted down, but at his voice she lifted her face into the light. Her left eye was badly bruised and her lips appeared unnaturally swollen. Zelgadis couldn't see flesh beneath the soft black turtleneck sweater she was wearing, but he was willing to bet it held more unpleasant surprises.

"Who did this to you?" Zelgadis asked softly. He folded Lina into his embrace. The small girl did not resist, nor did she speak. "Please tell me."

"It's nothing." The normally energetic voice was tired and withdrawn.

"Nothing? Heavens, Lina, you were sucker-punched! I don't think that's 'nothing' at all!"

"I don't want to talk about it."  
"That's not healthy, and you know it."

"Can we just go now?"

"Lina…"  
"Please?" It was the soft plaintive quality of her voice that finally made Zelgadis concede. He was terribly unhappy with this, and he had every intention of finding out what had happened before the night was over.

Digging in his pockets for his wallet, Zelgadis pulled out a picture that had been stuffed in his jacket. It was the one Briar had taken at the zoo, of Amelia and Zelgadis laughing when the elephant sprayed water all over them. Guilt settled like a vicious snake in the pit of Zelgadis's stomach. He really did look happy. And while he was having so much fun, what was happening to Lina? Was she being accosted by some mysterious, malignant force? Was she crying, was she hiding, was she running from the ghosts in her life? Zelgadis hurriedly tossed the offensive picture into the nearest trashcan and led Lina away to dinner.


	10. Revelations

**Author Notes:** There are implied unwanted sexual advances at the end of the chapter, so if that bothers you, don't read the last section of this chapter.

**Chapter 9 – Revelations**

Zelgadis nervously sipped at his water glass. He wanted to look anywhere but at the girl sitting across from him. She was very pretty… no, Zelgadis had to admit, she was beautiful. And she wasn't Lina.  
"So. Amelia," Zelgadis began, knowing full well how strained his introduction sounded. He brought his fingers up to loosen his collar, realized his action, and quickly dropped his hand back into his lap. If only she wasn't sitting there, looking so innocent and cute… Her hair was kept out of her eyes with small, glittering clips, and she was wearing a pale, lavender wool sweater that looked irresistibly soft. Amelia blinked in response, a small smile quirking her lips.  
"Yes?"  
Zelgadis hated his parents at that moment. After returning from his date with Lina, his parents had assaulted him with reservations at one of the most prestigious and expensive restaurants for the following night, with Amelia Saillune as his guest. The quiet atmosphere was almost too much for Zelgadis to handle. Very faint violin music played in the background, a low murmur of sophisticated voices rose in waves, and wine glasses clinked delicately all around.  
It was a perfect evening, but Zelgadis only wanted to be with Lina.  
"I'm really sorry, but I think this whole… everything is not what you think it is."  
"Um… okay?" Amelia's confusion was very obvious by the expression on her face.  
"I mean," Zelgadis said, feeling like an idiot, "I really like you, and this is fun, but it was all set up by my parents. And probably yours."  
"Yes, I know," Amelia replied, sounding not the least bit surprised. She looked, if anything, suspicious, as though she were uncertain where Zelgadis was taking this conversation.  
"You do?"  
"I'm not stupid, Zelgadis. Please don't pretend that I am." Amelia, in spite of her rather naïve appearance, seemed to be rather intelligent.  
"I'm sorry. I just thought… well, I know my parents usually don't include me in the loop of things. I assumed you were the same as well."  
"I'm not supposed to be 'in the loop of things', either, but I manage." For a moment, uncharacteristic bitterness crept into Amelia's voice. Her face darkened, but for only a moment. She smiled, and it seemed to chase away the shadows. "But I'm curious to what you mean by it now…"  
"Well… this whole… thing…" Zelgadis began waving his hands in front of him, trying to manifest his thoughts. Weakly he gestured to Amelia, then himself. "You know… you and I… together…"  
Amelia's face was carefully blank. Zelgadis sighed deeply. She obviously wasn't going to help clarify. She was actually going to make him say it. Was she being purposefully difficult, or did she really not know? _Damn her… no, wait, damn my parents for setting me up to this… and damn her parents, too…_ Zelgadis took a deep breath, averted his eyes, and began his speech.  
"Maybe you really don't see what's going on, but I've seen through this whole charade right from the start. My parents are always trying to hook me up with one girl or another, and you're awfully convenient for them. My father and your father are working on that business merger, they're obviously going to have to keep close contact… What better way than making their children marry? It's merging both the companies and the families. The fact that you're well-bred, financially secure, and daughter of Saillune is all icing on the cake. I like you, you're a nice enough girl, but I don't abide by this. If I ever marry, it will be for love, and on my own terms. I can't see you as anything more than a friend, I hope you feel the same way. Maybe if we both stand up to our parents, we could… stop…" Zelgadis's words trailed off into silence. He had finally managed to bring his gaze back to Amelia's face, and the look he saw there made his heart plummet.  
Amelia had begun to turn a strange shade of red, almost bordering on purple. Her eyes glimmered in the candlelight, and although no tears were shed, they were on the verge.  
"Amelia…" Zelgadis began again, concerned. He couldn't tell if she was upset about learning the truth or… or if she just had her heart carelessly broken…  
"I'm sorry," she said. Her tremulous voice hardly carried across the table. Zelgadis had to lean forward to catch every word. "I… I've known what they had in mind… I know they want us to marry… and I'm happy for it…"  
Unpleasantly unsurprised, Zelgadis sat back up straight in his chair.  
"But you hardly know me!" he exclaimed.  
"Yes, I know, but… but we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other… Already I… really like you, I like everything about you… I would love to marry you," Amelia's voice began a steady climb to stability. Every word seemed to bring her together. She smiled. "I think I'm in love with you, Zelgadis Graywords, and I can't love you as just a friend."  
"Amelia… I don't feel the same way about you. I'm sorry."  
"Just give me time! Please, just give me a chance. I know that you'll fall in love me like I have with you! I can feel it, it's so right…" Finally the tears spilled over her cheeks, but they were joyful tears. "Haven't you felt the connection? At the zoo? And every other time we've been together?"  
"No, I haven't." Zelgadis fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. He really, really wanted to get up and leave; however it would be extremely bad form to leave a young lady alone at a fancy restaurant… especially if she was crying, as Amelia was now.  
"I promise that I'll make you see how perfect we are," Amelia went on, oblivious to Zelgadis's growing discomfort. "We'll spend more time together, we'll do whatever you want to do. How about tomorrow night we go to the opera? Or maybe something less classy, like taking in a movie at the cinema? I wouldn't mind doing that, it's a bit trivial, but if that's what you want, let's go. Or maybe the art museum?" She stopped abruptly, her eyes glassy, and seemed to wait for a response.  
Silence fell across the table like a large furry beast, smothering the conversation and taking up more volume than it was worth. Zelgadis shifted in his seat, ready to stand up and storm out. It angered him to hear the words coming out of Amelia's mouth. They didn't seem phony, they seemed sincerely heartfelt, but it wasn't what Zelgadis wanted to hear. _But isn't it the same with Lina? _a sick voice cajoled from the back of his mind. _You barely know that girl, you've known her almost exactly as long as you've known Amelia… If you can fall in love with Lina, why can't Amelia fall for you?  
__ That's different,_ Zelgadis's fore-mind tried to argue._ Totally different!  
__ It's not, and you know it.  
__ Shut up.  
__ Make me!  
_ "Zelgadis…?" Amelia quietly piped up, interrupting the arguing voices. "You seem so upset…"  
"That's because I am," he snapped. "I don't want you to push this marriage issue. I'm not going to marry because my parents tell me to. I'm not their slave to order around."  
"Zelgadis, don't say that. Your parents want what's best for you. Your mother told me what happened before… with your first… It wasn't your fault, Zelgadis, and I think you need to put it all behind you. We're all very concerned about your welfare. It's not healthy to keep brooding over the past all the time." Amelia lapsed into silence, waiting for Zelgadis to make his rebuttal so that she could assuage his fears.  
The sounds of the restaurant died away until all Zelgadis could hear was the hammering of his own heart. Amelia's words reverberated in his mind, bouncing off long-forgotten memories and purposefully concealed emotions. _… mother told me what happened before… with your first… _It had been so long, too long, since Zelgadis let himself remember what had happened. It was a memory he wanted to stay buried, and that Amelia thought she could speak of it in such blithely ignorant tones made his blood boil.  
"You have no right to talk about that," Zelgadis growled, gritting his teeth. The sounds of the restaurant came back in a rush. The cacophony was nearly deafening.  
"See what I mean? It's important that you work through your feelings. I can help you, you just need to give me a chance. Your mother-"  
"I don't care what my mother says or does!"  
"But Zelgadis, Mika would have wanted you to-"  
"**Don't you dare tell me what Mika would have wanted! Don't you dare speak her name to me!**" Zelgadis bellowed, jumping to his feet. Silence reigned in once again around the table as the other patrons brought their voices from a dull roar to dead quiet. Amelia, looking extremely embarrassed, grabbed Zelgadis's sleeve and tugged it, indicating he should sit down. A small voice of propriety finagled its way into the chaos that was Zelgadis's mind and convinced him to take his seat. Reluctantly he did so and lowered his voice to a harsh whisper.  
"Please don't do this-"  
"What do you think it's like, Amelia, having to go about every day not thinking about the person you love most in the whole world, beyond life and death and out the other side, because the mere thought of them will bring you to your knees in the sheer agony, the sweltering pain of knowing that you will never see them again? I will tell you what it's like because that is how I must live. Every day is a day without Mika. Every day is a struggle to remember why I should live if she isn't here. Every day is worthless but for what I force it to be. I have had to live with this misery for the past twelve months. For me the pain is still too near. I don't know what my mother told you. Yes, I was engaged once. Yes, I was so in love I could forget everything including my own name. Yes, Mika was robbed and violated and murdered in her own apartment the night of our wedding rehearsal. I can tell by the horrified look on your face that my mother never told you the full story. Well there it is, Amelia Saillune. Take a look at my sad pathetic life and see if you can fix it. I refuse to let go of my pain until it is good and ready to go. Nobody, not you, not my mother, can force me to forget what has happened. Someday I may find someone else to love as much as I loved Mika, and possibly I may wish to marry, but I will not be coerced into."  
Zelgadis stood up and stalked away. As the confused waiter approached him, Zelgadis shoved a couple hundred-dollar bills into the wringing hands and mumbled, "Keep the change."  
It wasn't until he was standing outside in the fresh evening air that he realized fat tears were rolling down his face.

Amelia stumbled out of the restaurant, blind for the tears in her eyes. She tried to compose herself at the table, tried to ignore the rude stares and the scandalized murmurs, tried to act as though her date hadn't just run off without her. The pain and humiliation were too great, though, and she couldn't take it any longer.  
The streets were awash with the heavy rain falling. The air was still humid, still warm, and a fine mist rose from the pavement as the slightly cooler raindrops consummated with the hot ground. Amelia fumbled in her purse for her cell phone, intending to call her chauffeur to pick her up. The sidewalks were clogged with heavy foot traffic, and Amelia was soon caught up in the crowd. No reception, no reception… still no reception… are the batteries dead? Too distraught to notice, she was shuffled away to an unfamiliar part of the city. By the time she realized nothing looked familiar, it was too late to retrace her steps.  
Her phone dropped with a loud smack on to the pavement. Biting her lip, furiously wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she knelt down to retrieve it.  
Something brushed her shoulder. Something hard pressed into the base of her skull.  
"The purse or your life," a voice said.  
Amelia froze. This wasn't happening… was it?  
The object stayed nestled in her hair but feet, a body, a face came into view. _There must be two of them… _Amelia thought, numb with fear. How did this happen to her? Wasn't she just standing outside a fancy restaurant in upscale town? The person in front of her took her chin in his fingers and forced her head up.  
"Or maybe your body would suffice… she's a real cutie, Harold, what do you think?" the voice was smooth, silky, like chocolate syrup. Violet eyes like gemstones, eerie in the failing light of day, roamed over Amelia's body.  
Amelia opened her mouth to scream, took a deep breath, and ended up choking on it as the heavy object against her neck was brutally rammed into her spine.  
"Ah, I don't think so, little girl," the man in front of her said. "We don't abide by screaming… at least, not until later, after the fun begins…" He smiled at Harold. It was the same sort of look that feline predators had before they pounced on a helpless baby bird. "Now hand over your purse, that's a good girl, we need to take care of that…" The purse was pried out of Amelia's shaking, stone cold fingers.  
"Wha… what are you going to do to me?" she whispered. She looked around, realizing that she had ended up in an alley… and there was no one to hear her…  
"Can you tell me who this is?" Shockingly, the man pulled out a crumpled photograph and placed it in Amelia's hands. "I was following a friend of mine, and her companion threw this away… I took it upon myself to see what it was that he didn't want my precious darling to see…" Amelia's eyes nearly popped out of her skull as she stared at the photograph. It was of her and Zelgadis at the zoo…  
"Zel-!" she gasped immediately, then squeaked and covered her mouth with her hand as she realized what she had almost done.  
"'Zel,' huh? What an unusual name… I want to know what he was doing with my Lina. I saw the two of you enter that restaurant, I saw him leave."  
"Who's Lina?" Something was beginning to click. Amelia suddenly remembered the day she had seen Zelgadis in the park on the bridge.  
"No, of course, you wouldn't know her… Are you involved with this man?"  
"… uh…"  
"No, I suppose you wouldn't be, not when Lina's spending all her time with this 'Zel' guy… Well, thank you, doll, for all your help… now it's my turn to repay the favor…" Before she could protest, the man reached over to grabbed her hips and tore at the gossamer skirt covering her legs.  
Amelia screamed. 


	11. Crescendo

**Chapter 10 – Crescendo**

When Zelgadis got back to his own apartment, hours after the upset with Amelia, he was still in a ripe mood and ready to destroy the next person to get in his way. He slammed his door closed and stalked into the kitchen, his mood and thoughts black as night. Grabbing a can of soda from the fridge, Zelgadis was about to flop on his couch and zone away for the rest of the night when his eyes caught sight of the red blinking light of his answering machine. He clicked the button.

"Zelgadis, this is your mother." She sounded frantic and on the verge of tears. Slowly the anger began to dissipate as worry crept into him. Elena Graywords was as strong as granite, and if she was upset by something, something was truly wrong. "There was an incident tonight with Amelia, she was... she was... Zelgadis, you need to come home as soon as you get this message." Beep.

Zelgadis felt frozen. He stared at the machine, and as one thought only looped in his mind, picked up his jacket and left.

_Is this my fault?_

* * *

Lina cracked open the door of her room and poked her head out into the hall. She was pretty sure Luna was at work, and she knew her mother was down at her favorite bar. Yet once again, strange noises provoked Lina to investigate.

"Xelloss, is that you?" she called, hazarding a guess.

"Yes, my pet, it is I," was the amused reply. Although not fond of Xelloss in the slightest, Lina was at least relieved it was not a complete stranger robbing her house. All she needed to do was lock her door and she would be set for the night.

As she tried to close the door, and hand snaked out of the darkness and grasped the wood. Surprised, Lina stepped back. Xelloss filled the doorway like a bad porn model, his sleazy silk shirt hung, unbuttoned, from his shoulders.

"You called?"

"No, I was just checking who was making noises out there so I didn't have to call the cops. Now get out of my room, please, I'm going to bed."

"Can I join you?"

"No, get out, please."

The silence was punctuated only by Xelloss' heavy breathing. He did not move. Lina felt her skin crawl and a shiver tripped up her spine.

"Get out!" She no longer cared about being polite. This was a breach of her privacy and she was not going to stand for it. She marched up to the door and attempted to slam it shut on him, but Xelloss held to it fast. In a move Lina barely had time to prepare for, Xelloss shoved Lina's shoulder, sending her to the floor. He got down on his knees, straddled her, and held both her wrists together over her head.. Lina's heart threatened to break out of her chest as she thrashed under her restraints. A terrible sense of doom slithered into her mind.

"Get the hell off of me, you sick bastard!" Lina screeched.

"I like them feisty," Xelloss replied, his face looming in her view. Lina spit as hard as she could, and her saliva hung from his nose and dripped onto hers.

* * *

"Zelgadis Graywords, you are the sorriest excuse for a son I have ever seen! You walked out of the restaurant and left Amelia all by herself! And she was nearly raped! What the hell did you think you were doing?! How can you be so irresponsible!"

"How is she? Is she okay now?" Zelgadis kept his head lowered as his raging father towered over him. He felt cowed and completely beaten, since what happened was, in a way, his fault.

"Oh, she's fine. Some nice fellow saw what was going on and had his friend call the cops while he chased off the attacker. But you have no idea what sort of trauma you put poor Amelia through!"

"Zelgadis, dear, what every possessed you to run out on her?" The strained voice of his mother broke Zelgadis' heart.

"We had an argument. I was wrong to leave, and believe me, I really am sorry. I'm just so glad Amelia's okay..."

"You should be glad Amelia's father isn't thinking about severe repercussions for you-"

"Does he blame me, too?"

"Of course he does! His only daughter is almost raped when she was supposed to be under your care! What self-respecting father wouldn't?!"

"Look, it's horrible what happened, and I'm really, really and truly sorry about it!" Zelgadis finally raised his head and met his father's eyes. "What more do you want from me?"

"You should take more responsibility for your actions, Zelgadis. I think it's time you should grow up."

"Zelgadis, what happened at the dinner?" his mother interjected again. Zelgadis hesitated, but at the penetrating gazes of his parents, he explained.

"I don't like it that you guys are pushing us into marriage, and I really didn't like hearing from Amelia that she wanted to, too. I just don't love Amelia like that. She's a wonderful, beautiful girl, but she's not the one I want to spend my life with."

"Mika is dead, Zelgadis, how much longer are you going to mourn her?!" The harsh words numbed Zelgadis.

"Sweetheart, calm down, that was uncalled for..."

"Zelgadis needs to get over that dead woman! She's gone and she's not coming back!" His father redirected his words to his son, who sat immobile on the couch. "You cannot expect to stay like this the rest of your life. You want to raise a family, yes? Look what happened the last time you fell in love. You don't want to go through that again, Zel. With Amelia you have an insured future. You'll have everything you could ever want. Mika, as dear as she was, was really not suited for you."

"Stop it."

"What?"  
"Stop speaking about Mika that way!" Zelgadis jumped to his feet. "What do you know about my own feelings? What do you know about what I want?! I won't stand to sit here and listen to you slander Mika's name!" Without waiting for a reply, Zelgadis left the house.

And in spite of the burning hatred he was feeling for his father, a single warm thought filtered through his mind.

_He's right, I don't want to live this way forever..._

* * *

Lina was ashamed and incredibly angry to feel tears running down her face and sobs building up in her chest. The last thing she needed to do was go into hysterics. She needed all her wits about her to get through this, to get away from this.

The sound of a zipper unzipping nearly did her in, and terror began to freeze her muscles until she realized there were no longer two hands holding her wrists, only one.

"Struggle all you want, my dear, it doesn't make a difference to me," Xelloss said. His fingers wandered to the waistband of her pajama pants.

Lina pulled her arms down as hard as she could and they yanked out from underneath Xelloss's large hands. The second they were free, she brought one hand up to grasp a handful of Xelloss's hair and yank, and the other to jab at his unprotected eyes. She pushed as hard as she could and rejoiced at the scream of pain from the man above her. Xelloss rolled away, covering his eyes with his hands, convulsing.

Lina ran out of the room, out of the apartment, out of the building. She didn't stop running until she collapsed in the grove she liked to call her own, the one where she first met Zelgadis.

Then, and only then, did she allow herself to fall to sobbing.

* * *

Zelgadis heard the sounds of crying before he saw the owner of the tears. Brushing aside a low-hanging branch, Zelgadis caught sight of a small figure huddled in the grass, trembling. Instinct and familiarity told him who it was.

"Lina?"


	12. Fighting the Truth that Deceives

**Chapter 11 – Fighting the Truth that Deceives**

"Lina!" Zelgadis dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Lina's shaking body. "What happened! What's wrong!"  
Lina did not reply, only raised her tear-streaked face to Zelgadis, and when her eyes caught his, she burst into sobbing again.

"Lina, tell me, please, I want to help you," Zelgadis pleaded. He forced Lina's chin up so that she met his eyes again. "Please, tell me what's wrong."

"He… he nearly raped me," Lina choked out, her anger quickly rising to replace the deluge of tears. "That bastard… that sick, twisted-" Her fists knotted up, her knuckles turning a fierce mottled red and white.

"Who!"

"… Never should have opened my door, should have just ignored… I can't believe …"

"Lina, what happened!"

"… I couldn't fight him, what the hell is wrong with me, I'm so damn weak, aren't I? I hate him, I hate him so much, I wish he'd just die, him and my stupid good-for-nothing sister-"

"Lina, answer me!" Zelgadis shouted, grabbing Lina by the shoulders and giving her a shake, trying to break her out of her hysteria.

"Xelloss, my sister's boyfriend," Lina choked out, drawing in huge breaths of air. "He tried to rape me." She rubbed at her eyes fiercely. "I can't go back. I can never go back there. I'm so sick of all this."

"Lina… oh, Lina…" Zelgadis gathered up her small frame into his arms, hugging her so tight she gasped. "I wish I was there to protect you. I'm so sorry…"

"I hate them all. They can all die and go to Hell for all I care. I'm through." Lina pushed herself away so she could look into Zelgadis's face. "Zel-"

"I'm going to kill him." The edge on Zelgadis's voice was sharp enough to cut steel. "I'm going to wish he'd never even seen you, and I will kill him."

"No, Zelgadis, don't. Don't go back. I can't bear to see you… no, I want him dead but not at the risk of what it would do to you."

"Fine, I won't kill him, but damnit if I'm going to stand by and let him get away with this." Zelgadis stood up and helped Lina to her feet.

"Zel… please… let's…" And Lina blurted out what had been on her mind for quite some time:

"Let's run away together."

There was a moment of silence.

"What?" Zelgadis asked.

"There is nothing here for me. I'm never going back to that place, those people aren't my family. They won't miss me and I sure as hell won't miss them. All I want is a chance to start my life again, and I want it to be with you. Let's go somewhere far from here."

"Lina, I can't do that…" Zelgadis began, feeling his heart sink into an abyss he didn't know existed within himself.

He knew he was burning bridges with every word he said, but it scared him to think he suddenly had an out to all his problems. It could never work, his parents would disown him, and he'd never accomplish all he had set out to do. He hated that his parents controlled almost every aspect of his life, but he needed them, in a way he never realized until faced with the option of breaking away. It made him feel weak, but he couldn't think of what else to do. He was pretty sure he loved Lina but wasn't so sure on throwing everything away to follow her. "I'm sorry, but I can't…"

"What are you so scared of? Zel, please!"

"Look, Lina, I can't stand by anymore watching you get hurt. I'm going to your place and talking to this Xelloss creep, and your sister and your mother if they're there. All of them. We're going to straighten this out because it's not right. There is no reason why you shouldn't be safe at home."

"Good luck finding my mom," Lina laughed unhappily, her eyes narrowing as she backed away from Zelgadis. "What, you think you can just talk away all the problems? That you can fix my broken family? You're not GOD, okay? Maybe you didn't grow up with an absent father and an alcoholic mother and abusive sister, but you should at LEAST be able to see that there is no hope for my situation. There is only on solution, the same thing you'd do with a diseased limb: amputation. Cut out the disease."

"I am not going to let you get hurt anymore, okay? Take me to your home. Please."

"I can't believe I'm letting you do this. It's such a bad idea…"

When they returned to Lina's home Xelloss was, expectedly, still there, nursing a black eye, deep gouges on his face, and a sore scalp. Luna and their mother were not at home.

"Ah, so you came back, my pet," Xelloss called from the couch when he saw Lina's body slide in through the front door but not noticing the larger shadow behind her. "Didn't get enough of me the first time, eh?"

"Go to hell," Lina snapped back, not feeling particularly witty. She was slightly reassured when Zelgadis pressed his hand into the small of her back as he silently slipped past her, but she still felt like she was going to throw up. Just being in the same room with Xelloss made her feel unclean.

Xelloss, startled at the new face, sat up abruptly but hardly had time to defend himself before Zelgadis descended on him like an avenging angel of death. Zelgadis grabbed Xelloss by the front of his clothes, dragged him off the couch, and slammed him into the wall. The plaster cracked. Xelloss winced.

"Alright you scum-sucking son of a bitch," Zelgadis bellowed, his snarling teeth inches away from Xelloss's face. "I think you need a lesson in manners. Lesson one-" Zelgadis let Xelloss drop forward a bit, then slammed him back. "Never, EVER push yourself onto a lady. Lesson two-" Again, into the wall. "Do not EVER inappropriately touch a lady. And lesson three-" Again. "If you ever, EVER touch Lina again or even so much as talk to her, I will see to it that you become intimately familiar with your internal organs." Zelgadis threw Xelloss away from him, who managed to regain his balance on his feet, albeit a little shakily. "You got that?"

"My, how clever you are," Xelloss chuckled, rubbing his throat tenderly with his hands. "Are you this protective of your other little friend? The pretty little brunette?"

The silence in the room buzzed with uncertainty and anticipation. Zelgadis stared at Xelloss, who simply stared back with a satisfied smirk on his lips. Zelgadis felt his heart skip a beat and knew immediately who Xelloss was referring to.

"What the hell are you talking about?" At first Zelgadis thought the words were his, but he saw Lina edge into the corner of his eye, her chest quickly rising and falling, her fists balled at her sides.

Xelloss turned to Lina in mock surprise.

"Oh? You didn't know? No, of course not, why would you? Why would any man tell his beloved of the other woman in his life?" Xelloss reached his quaking hand into his pocket and scrounged around a bit. Zelgadis couldn't face Lina, who was now looking at him with a dead look on her face. He could only stare at Xelloss.

"This, my dear Tiger, will tell you all you need to know," Xelloss said, pulling out the picture of Zelgadis and Amelia together and holding it out to Lina.

At first Lina didn't move. She glanced from Xelloss's outstretched hand to Zelgadis's blank face. Finally she snatched it away and unfolded the mangled photograph.

Silence, this time more deadly than the last.

"Zel…" Lina whispered. She cleared her throat, and in what she hoped was a stronger-sounding voice, said, "Zel, who is this girl?"

"A cousin, perhaps?" Xelloss cut in, laughing psychotically. "A long-lost sister? Or perhaps an ex-girlfriend from a long time ago? I think if you take a look at the back, you'll see that's not the case."

Lina flipped the picture over to check the date stamp, which was clearly set within the time she had known Zelgadis.

"I don't understand…"

"Lina…" Zelgadis finally brought himself to look at Lina but immediately wished he hadn't, for the broken look on her face was enough to make him wish he was dead. "It's not what you think…"

"So who is she? A relative?"

"No."

"A… a friend?"

"Well… yes, I guess you could say that… but… Lina, it's not… she's not my…"

"I'll just leave you two alone, shall I?" They were startled by Xelloss's voice, which had moved into the foyer area. He had wobbled his way around them while they had been locked on each other. Before they could react, Xelloss left.

"Tell me who she is. Why haven't you told me about her before?"

"It's a long story…"

"I've got a long time! I've got my whole fricking life! So tell me, Zelgadis, who is this other girl? Have you being seeing her, like you've been seeing me?"

"It's my parents, Lina! She's the daughter of my father's business partner and they've been trying to set me up with her."

"I see. And why did you never mention this to me? Don't you think it would be important?"

"Well, yes-"

"Is this why you don't want to leave the city?" A dawning realization lifted Lina's bubbling anger to incredulousness. "I can't believe I never saw it. You never talk about your family and you never let me see them. You've got this perfect little life on the side that I don't know about. AW HELL! I'm the "on the side", aren't I?" Lina crushed the photo in her hand and threw it at Zelgadis, which bounced harmlessly off his chest.

"No, Lina. Please. Stop it. It was all set up by my parents and her parents. I tried to tell them that I had someone else in my life. Lina, I tried to tell them about you, about us, because I do want you to be a part of my life-"

"Oh, so I'm not good enough for your family? I see how it is. Tell me this, though: did you ever have feelings for this girl?"

"Of course not-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"ALRIGHT! FINE! I will admit it! I did, a little bit, okay? At first. I was confused; no, scratch that, I AM confused. You have no idea what I've gone through, but I want you to know. I want to tell you everything." Zelgadis ran his hands through his hair. He reached out and grabbed Lina's arms, who tried to pull away but couldn't, and settled on glaring at him. "Lina, I've kept you separate from my life because I've been afraid. But I know now that I don't want Amelia or the life offered to me through her. I want you, only you."

"Enough to run away with me?"

"Lina… I can't…"  
"Get out."

"… What?"

"Get out of my home. I don't want you here."

"Lina…"

"I need time to think, and I can't do that with you looking at me like that."

"Lina…"

Lina did not reply again but only pointed at the door, her face turned downward, her hair shielding her eyes.

Zelgadis left, not knowing what the hell to do with his life.


	13. Till Death Do Us Part: Part 1

**Chapter 12 – Till Death Do Us Part: Part 1**

Lina lay curled up in her bed, staring at the wall opposite. She pulled her fuzzy blanket tighter around her and sighed.

It had been how long now? A week? Xelloss hadn't bothered her again, although Luna had given her a pretty good thrashing a few days ago for forgetting groceries. Lina hadn't even left for work; instead, she called in sick for every shift she was supposed to work. Hearing her, nobody would doubt that.

Lina knew she was being emo but she couldn't get over how thoroughly screwed up her life was. She tried to ignore the creeping feeling that there was nothing worth living for. Suicide was for losers, for quitters, and if Lina was anything, she was a winner.

At least, that's what she had always told herself before. Now, she spent every night worried about someone breaking into her room and assaulting her, and every day worried about what she was supposed to do with her life. She didn't feel safe. She didn't feel free.

Mostly, she just felt lonely.

She was still pissed off about Zelgadis and his secrets, but she missed him acutely. It pissed her off even more that he hadn't even bothered to come back for her. No phone call, no stopping by, not even a letter.

_So that's all I was_, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. _A fling. I can't believe I even thought for a second he'd choose me when he had Miss Perfect Teeth and Perfect Hair._

Lina rolled over so she was facing the wall and willed herself to sleep, wondering if she could force herself to never wake up.

* * *

Zelgadis sat on the couch in his parents' living room, eyes lackadaisically locked on the wall behind his mother's head. His parents were talking to him, he was vaguely aware of the nondescript buzzing in his ears, but he couldn't will himself to listen or care.

His parents' chairs were pulled up close to the couch, all three of their pairs of knees practically touching. Elena Graywords' hand came down on Zelgadis' knee, and he shifted his gaze to look at it.

"… so what do you think?" Elena's words suddenly made sense again, although Zelgadis was still lost as to what, exactly, the topic of conversation was.

"Huh?" he replied. He caught the look that exchanged between his parents and felt the sharp sting of his anger rising.

"As your mother was saying," Maxwell continued, putting one of his hands on Elena's free hand but not extending the physical gesture to his son, "We think it might be in your best interest to get away from here for awhile. Take a vacation. Clear your head. I've arranged with some of my colleagues to have you tour our West Coast operations. I really think you'll like what they're doing out there. I'd hoped that it might-"

"Yeah, that sounds like a vacation to me." Zelgadis scowled. "Being brainwashed by your staff into coming to work for you. No thanks, I'll pass."

Out of the corner of his eye Zelgadis saw his father's face turn bright red and his mouth open. Elena's hand quickly left her son's knee and frantically patted her husband's. Zelgadis hid his smirk by turning to glance down the hallway on his right.

"No, of course not," Elena cut in. "Of course not. No, you don't need to think about business while you're out there, sweetheart, but I really think it would do you some good to get out of town. What do you say?"

"I say I've still got classes to attend, so, again: No thanks. I'll pass."

"Actually," Maxwell spoke up, "We've already contacted your professors and they've given us the go-ahead to send you on vacation for a week or two."

"You're kidding." For the first time since the conversation began, Zelgadis looked his father in the eye. "You cannot be serious."

"Once I explained the situation, they were very eager to – "

"Situation!" The skin around Zelgadis' knuckles tightened and turned white. "What sort of 'situation'?"

"Sweetheart," Elena broke in gently. "We know you've been really haunted by this whole Mika thing and that's why you've been… fraternizing with this Lima girl, and-"

"It's Lina." Zelgadis turned his fierce gaze on his mother, wondering how long he could keep his rage in. At the rate it was building, he gave himself about 30 seconds.

"Yes, of course, that's what I – "

"And it's not a 'Mika' thing."

"I know that, dear, but-"

"And if there is a 'situation,' as you said, it's not about Mika and it's certainly not about Lina. It's about both of you pushing me into being someone I don't want to be."

"Zelgadis, you listen to me." Zelgadis found himself staring into his father's eyes, as Maxwell had leaned forward in his seat to grab his son's wrists. "We only want what's best for you because we love you, and we have a lot more experience than you do. You just need to trust that."

Zelgadis closed his eyes, counted to ten, and was still pissed off when he finished.

"If you loved me, you'd let me live."

Zelgadis got up, pushed past his astonished parents, and left the house.

* * *

Lina didn't even raise her head when she heard her door open. It occurred to her that she may have forgotten to lock it the last time she came back from the bathroom. Her muscles tensed as a cold sweat took hold of her. Her body felt ready for a fight, but somewhere deep inside her a voice said, "Why bother?"

And Lina let go of her adrenaline.

"Hey there, Pussycat."


	14. Till Death Do Us Part: Part 2

**Chapter 13 - Till Death Do Us Part: Part 2**

Zelgadis found his way back to Lina's home by his usually impeccable but occasionally faulty memory. As he mounted the threadbare steps and crossed the narrow hallway with poor lighting on the second floor, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

He stopped, halfway down the hallway. At the far end lay the glorified motel room Lina and her, for lack of a better term, "family" lived.

Last time he had seen Lina, he had been so crushed by the look in her eyes that he wasn't sure if he could continue living. He had almost collapsed on her doorstep and begged her forgiveness. Instead, he had been so wracked with guilt at the mess he had made of his life, and everyone else's life too, for that matter, that he had blindly, wordlessly, numbly left the building and made his way home.

Desperation, fear, betrayal, resentment - emotions Zelgadis hated to see in anyone but were especially debilitating to him when they came from Lina. And there had been something else there, too, something he hadn't seen before and hadn't expected: Resignation.

He should have turned around, marched right back in, and swept Lina off her feet like a prince in some stupid fairytale, even though Lina would've probably fought him every step of the way. Right where he was standing now, right there, that's where he should've spun on his feet. Carried her right out of this godforsaken building and away to somewhere better for the both of them.

Love makes people to stupid things, but fear makes people absolute morons.

How long had it taken him to realize he was truly, utterly, madly, inescapably in love with Lina? That was a stupid question. He had known from the first glimpse of her bouncing poppy-red hair that they were destined.

It had occurred to him before that he may be doing a disservice to his first love Mika, thinking things like that, and the thoughts had first filled him with shame and grief, but the more he searched himself the more sure he was that Mika would approve, and that she would bless them with whatever heavenly powers she now had.

So here he stood, bolted to the floor, on the cusp of either making a huge mistake or the best decision of his life.

Was she truly so upset that she wanted to end everything with him? He couldn't know. Not until he saw her.

Even if this would be their last moment together, it would be worth it.

Zelgadis crossed the remainder of the hallway with long, determined strides and rang the buzzer next to the peeling wooden frame of the door.

* * *

Lina lifted her head from the floor, panting heavily, at the sound f the doorbell. Xelloss, some feet away leaning against the wall, cradled a broken wrist with his opposite hand, also breathing heavily.

"You're not answering that," Xelloss growled. As if Lina could just stand up and waltz over to it. It was all she could do just to keep breathing.

"I hope," Lina began through gritted teeth, "That someday I'll be able to repay-" Lina paused to cough, almost gagging at the coppery taste in her mouth, "-the favor you so graciously bestowed on me."

"No thanks," Xelloss replied, lurching toward the prone girl. "You've done enough."

"Does 'kitty' play too hard for you?"

"Shut up!"

* * *

Zelgadis wondered if he should try again, or just walk away. He could faintly make out sounds coming from the other side of the door, but there was no way to tell if it was a strung-out Luna or a drunken Mom or his beloved Lina.

Suddenly there was a crash, loud enough for Zelgadis to discern that something bad was happening in that hellhole of an apartment.

He knocked on the door, hard, and rang again. He tried turning the knob, in case he had just taken for granted that these people ocked their doors, but the door was indeed locked.

"Lina?!" he shouted, putting his face close to the wood. He banged on the door again, hard enough to make his knuckles throb in pain. "Lina!"

* * *

"Sounds like your loverboy is here to pay you a visit."

Lina, having just managed to get out of the way of a falling bookcase, squeezed her eyes shut. Tears coalesced on her lashes, and she brought up a hand to wipe them away. Her jammed fingers on that hand gave a twinge of pain, causing even more tears to come forth.

"Go to hell," she whispered. "Go to hell."

"I would've thought you 'd scared him away forever, after last time."

Lina didn't rise to the bait this time, but she did start to slink and roll toward the door.

"ZEL!" she shrieked.

* * *

"Lina!" Zelgadis put his face flat against the door. "What's going on?! Are you hurt?!" There was no vocal response, at least not any that he could understand.

Zelgadis looked wildly around, desperation turning him into a cornered animal. He caught a glimpse of two pale faces, and he whirled around to face the tenets of the apartment two doors down. His mouth opened to speak and their eyes widened. The faces disappeared.

"Wait!" Zelgadis yelled, and when the door began to swing shut he lunged toward it. He got his hand on the knob and his foot in the door, just as the wood would have slammed home into the frame. Ignoring the jarring pain, Zelgadis pushed the door back. "Please, you have to help! Call the police!"

"Get out of my home!" the older of the two, a tragically young mother, shrieked. She pushed behind her a small child, who stared at Zelgadis with a mixture of fear and awe. No doubt Zelgadis looked a fright himself, though surely he couldn't be any mor dangerous than what was going on behind Lina's closed door.

"I will, just - just, please, call the damn police!"

"OUT! GET OUT!" The woman began throwing magazines and whatever else lay at her immediate disposal. Zelgadis retreated, but, spying a cordless phone on the rickety entrance hall table, he grabbed what he wanted before slamming the door after himself.

He dialed as quick as his shaking fingers allowed him.

* * *

Lina and Xelloss eyed each other, both suffering in more ways than they dared to show. Lina sat in the entryway, bruised, bleeding, holding a broken arm to her breasxt and using her other hand to grab at her shin. The pain was so intense and so completely overwhelming she wasn't even sure what, exactly, was broken or damaged. At the very least, she took comfort in the fact that Xelloss looked the worse for wear, and thankful that she hadn't trimmed her nails in a very long time.

In spite of the damage she had dealt, the bastard was still on his feet, which unfortunately meant he still had the advantage. He was, at the moment, mourning the loss of depth perception in general and his left eye in particular, but Lina was positive that wouldn't last long, as he'd surely come after her to repay the favor any minute.

Zelgadis was on the other side of the door at Lina's back. All she had to do was get the door open. Turn around, unlock the stupid thing, and she'd be okay.

That's what she kept telling herself.

The thought of seeing his face, the thought of being in his arms, the thought of him destroying this demon in the room gave Lina the energy to move.

She pushed herself off the floor, every joint aching in protest, every wound including the superficial ones burning as if salt had been poured into them. She half turned, half fell against the door, and disengaged the chain lock. Her head pounded.

Lina held onto the knob with a death grip, using it to keep her in at least a semi-vertical state, and turned the deadbolt lock. It felt like her vision was beginning to go fuzzy at the edges.

One left. The lock in the doorknob itself had to be turned before the door would open.

One left.

Bloody fingers grabbed a handful of Lina's hair and snapped her head back, trying to drag her away from the door. She clung to the doorknob like it was a life raft and she was adrift in the sea. A red-hot pain blossomed in her head.

"You stupid _bitch_," Xelloss's voice gurgled in her ear. "You ugly _whore_-"

Lina choked, from the pressure on her throat or the tears in her eyes, she wasn't sure. To even attempt to fight back she'd have to let go of the door, but she couldn't be sure she'd be able to reach it again.

A flick of the wrist, the slightest pressure from a single finger, that is all it would take, but somehow she was unable to get her fingers in the right place and position, as if she had forgotten how to use them.

But Zelgadis…

Right there…

A breath away…

A moment of clarity burned clear Lina's mind. She could suddenly sense that Xelloss was leaning on her as much as she was on hime, and if she could just shift the balance…

Lina let go of the doorknob and pushed off against the door with the foot that hurt significantly less than the other. When she felt them both start to fall, she pushed as hard as she could and used her momentum and weight to land on Xelloss as hard as she could.

She heard the sharp crack of Xellos's head connecting with the linoleum floor. The grip on her hair loosened as the monster shrieked. Lina, cushioned from the fall by her assailant's body, rolled away. Her body begged to stay where it lay, pleaded with her to just close her eyes for a second or three and rest, but she knew she couldn't.

She began her crawl back to the door.

* * *

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Zelgadis spat at the woman whose phone he had just hijacked. The woman, having reclaimed her phone by subjecting Zelgadis to a barrage of blows via a broken umbrella, scowled at him and slammed the door. "Ashamed," he repeated, returning to his spot by Lina's apartment. _At least I got the call in…_

Zelgadis heard a click. He looked down at the doorknob, hardy daring to hope. When the door didn't open immediately from the inside, a wave of terror flooded Zelgadis's heart. Someone unlocked but didn't open the door? Or _couldn't_?

Zelgadis wrapped his hand around the knob and opened the door.


	15. Epilogue: Dance With Me

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading and supporting!

**Epilogue - Dance With Me**

"If music be the food of love, play on." - Wm. Shakespeare

Zelgadis was usually indifferent when it came to hospitals. If he had to go, he didn't complain, but he didn't particularly enjoy going.

Today was different.

Today everything was going to change…

… he hoped.

* * *

Zelgadis patted his jacket pocket before entering the hospital room, reassuring himself that its contents were still there. They were.

"Hey there, gorgeous," he said as he crossed the threshold. He approached the lone occupant of the room, who lay propped against the pillows, reading a book. At his entrance, Lina's face lit up. She closed the book and set it on the bedside table.

"Hey there, tall, dark and incredibly handsome."

"That's nice of you to say so, but we both know I'm average height."

"Come here, goofball."

They embraced, Zelgadis lightly at first, wary of Lina's fragility, but the little redhead surprised him by giving him a hug fierce enough to make him gasp.

"Feeling better, are we?" Zelgadis asked, pulling back to look in Lina's face.

"Much." She beamed.

"Good, good…" Zelgadis patted his pockets again, feeling equal rushes of anxiety and exhilaration. Lina caught the movement and jabbed her own finger at the pocket before Zelgadis could react.

"What's in there?"

"It's, well… it's… for you."

"For me?! I love things for me!"

"Yes, you do…"

"I do! Okay, what is it?"

Zelgadis took a deep breath.

"Lina, there are some things I want to say-"

"Fine, but give me whatever it is first."

"What?! No, just wai-"

"If you were lying half-dead in the hospital, I totally wouldn't hold out."

"You're not half-dead-"

"No, but I _was_, and that counts. Come on, please?"

"I can see you're recovering just fine. You're back to your old, stubborn self."

"Yes, and to celebrate, you should give me my present."

Zelgadis looked at Lina and thought about trying to argue further, but he felt himself melting in the radiance of her smile.

"Okay," he sighed. Lina threw up her arms and squealed happily. She clapped her hands.

"Out with the goods, mister," she said.

"There's actually a couple things for you…" Zelgadis reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic-wrapped CD case. "The album was released today. I saw it on the way here."

"Ooooh, my favorite artist! Thank you!"

"The next thing is kind of a two-part gift." Zelgadis pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Lina.

Lina opened the envelope and took out its contents. She stared at the airplane tickets in her hand.

"Washington?" Her eyes switched from the tickets to Zelgadis's face.

"I really think you'd love it out there," Zelgadis replied, launching into explanation mode. "It's away from here, away from all this, and it's a beautiful place. I've always loved it there. I… I know you wanted to go to Jullien. I'll understand if you want to stay for that, but… Lina, I really hope you'll choose to come with me."

"Come… with you?"

"Yes, there are two tickets there. I want us to go together."

"You're crazy to think I'd want to spend one more minute in this city, even for Jullien, but…what about… your life here?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Your family?"

"Don't care."

"…A… Amelia?"

"Lina, you're the one I want. You asked me once to run away with you, and there is nothing I want more than to start a new life with you."

They sat in silence, eyes locked, hearts fluttering like tiny birds, pulses thrum-thrumming along like the melody to a classic love song, every nerve ending on edge, pulled taut like guitar strings.

"And," Zelgadis continued, voice hushed, hand reaching into his pocket for the final gift, "Lina…"

Lina broke their mutual stare when the box in Zelgadis's palm was opened and her attention was directed to the small diamond ring nestled in the fabric.

"Please say you'll start this new life with me. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," Lina breathed without hesitation, her voice barely above a whisper. "Of course."

* * *

If we could, for a moment, imagine what Fate would be like as not just an idea but as human, we might see a bitter old codger of a man, hardened by years of dismay and disappointment. We might see a fickle young child, petulant, wanton in desires and actions.

We might, however, see a gentle but strong woman, working ceaselessly against the chaos and entropy of the universe to give Her children a chance at happiness, at wonder, at love. This wise woman, with eyes of kindness and a smile like the sun, would surely find herself grinning at the joining of these two souls.

The End


End file.
